By Gavin Boyle
Johnny Depp shared his excitement for the upcoming take on A Christmas Carol, titled EBENEZER, talking about why he chose to get involved in the project and take on the lead role.
“[It is] an extraordinary privilege to step into a story that I have been obsessed with since I was a little child,” Depp said last week. “When I was approached by [filmmaker] 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 did something very special.”
Depp’s comments were accompanied by a first-look at the movie exclusive for CinemaCon attendees. It included many iconic Christmas Carol components such as “Bah humbug” and Ebenezer Scrooge being visited by the ghost of Christmas past.
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Along with Depp, the project will feature Rupert Grint, Andrea Riseborough, Sam Claflin, Daisy Ridley, Arthur Conti, Ellie Bamber, Charlie Murphy, Tramell Tillman and Ian McKellen. The movie is set to premiere on Nov. 13.
EBENEZER: A CHRISTMAS CAROL is one of two movies actively in production that adapts Dickens’ famous story. The other will star Willem DaFoe as Scrooge and will likely lean into the horror aspects of the story as it is being directed by NOSFERATU director Robert Eggers.
“[Working with Dafoe] was pretty overwhelming, because he was such a major acting hero to me while I was growing up. He still is. I was intimidated” Eggers told Vulture when discussing the first time he worked with him. “ But then – and I worry that this could sound proud or something – as soon as we started talking, I was like, ‘Okay, I can get along with this person.’ We just see a lot of things the same way. When it’s a good fit, it feels like doing theater in high school with my friends.”
Hopefully both upcoming adaptations will include the uplifting storylines that have made A Christmas Carol so timeless, even if they reach that message through different means. While little is known about either project, this hope is possible as uplifting, family-friendly stories have found favor in Hollywood in recent years. The industry has begun to listen to audiences who clamor for this type of content above all else.
In classic Johnny Depp fashion, his portrayal of Scrooge was shown to include elements of comedy. The upcoming release of EBENEZER will likely give Dickens fans an exciting new way to interact with A Christmas Carol when it releases this November.
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