Paramount has unveiled the first footage from Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol, its new take on Charles Dickens’ classic 1843 novella A Christmas Carol, directed by Ti West and starring Johnny Depp.
In A Christmas Carol — one of the most frequently adapted works in film and television history — we follow Ebenezer Scrooge, a miserly businessman who is visited by the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come, forcing him to confront his life and ultimately change his ways.
Footage previewed in-room-only in Las Vegas showed everything you’d expect — a homely, elderly looking Depp in prosthetics, as Scrooge, shouting “Ba, humbug!” and being visited by three ghosts, who will change his perspective on life.
Paramount billed the film as a “bold new twist” on a classic tale, with Depp on hand to promote it following a taped introduction from West.
Depp said it was “an extraordinary privilege to step into a story I have been obsessed with since I was a little child.”
He added, “When I was approached by Ti West, my first thought was, there’s no one who can do it as good as Alastair Sim did in the ’30s or whatever. It’s a magical performance. But then I thought, that’s no reason not to attempt something…I think Ti really did something very special.” (The Sim version was released in 1951.)
From Paramount, in association with Domain Entertainment, Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol releases November 13. Nathaniel Halpern penned the script, with Emma Watts producing.
Ebenezer also stars Rupert Grint, Andrea Riseborough, Sam Claflin, Daisy Ridley, Arthur Conti, Ellie Bamber, Charlie Murphy, Tramell Tillman, and Ian McKellen.
Exec producers on the project included David Reid, Adam Bohling, Stephen Deuters, Jason Forman, West, Pete Chiappetta, Anthony Tittanegro, and Andrew Lary.
