Johnny Depp Unrecognizable at Comic-Con for “Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol”
San Diego Comic-Con is famous for its massive surprises, but no one expected a Victorian winter in the middle of the 80-degree California summer heat. Johnny Depp sent shockwaves through the Gaslamp Quarter when he emerged completely unrecognizable as Ebenezer Scrooge to promote his upcoming gothic fantasy, Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol, directed by horror maestro Ti West.
The film, which hits theaters on November 13, 2026, promises a dark reimagining of the Charles Dickens classic, complete with an all-star cast including Rupert Grint and Sir Ian McKellen.
Paramount Pictures went all out, constructing a fake 1880s British Christmas village—complete with a “Scrooge and Marley” storefront and live carolers—right on the streets of San Diego.
Stepping out of the installation, Depp was a vision of misery. Buried under heavy facial prosthetics, a graying beard, and wearing a classic Victorian silk top hat and long black suit, he hunched over a cane and immediately began berating the excited crowd. Staying perfectly in character, he scowled and muttered, “Do you have jobs? Why are you here? I can only say you’re all very, very strange people. Humbug!”.
He even carried his grumpy persona into the convention center, crashing Hall H’s Directors on Directing panel to debut the film’s new trailer.
A Multiverse of Cosplay
The absolute best moment of the stunt happened when Scrooge crossed paths with fans cosplaying as Depp’s own iconic past characters. In a surreal collision of cinematic universes, Depp momentarily broke his curmudgeonly character to marvel at an incredibly accurate Edward Scissorhands cosplayer, asking the age-old logistical question: “How do you go to the WC? The toilet!”
He then snatched a piece of candy dispensed from a Willy Wonka cosplayer’s staff and used it to playfully taunt a nearby fan dressed as Captain Jack Sparrow.
While Scrooge might despise joy, Depp’s dedication to donning his famous costumes is rooted in spreading it. His Comic-Con stunt is part of a much larger, heartwarming tradition.
Over the past couple of years, Depp has repeatedly slipped back into his full Captain Jack Sparrow gear to visit pediatric and oncology wards at children’s hospitals. Whether he’s spending hours at the Niño Jesús University Children’s Hospital in Madrid or the Donostia University Hospital in San Sebastián, Spain, he stays fully in character to bring a little magic and laughter to sick kids.
With the tagline “The name you know, the story you don’t” teasing Ti West’s terrifying new vision of the holiday classic, Depp’s epic Comic-Con stunt proved that he is officially back in the Hollywood spotlight.
