San Diego Comic-Con is happening right now in California. And Johnny Depp is there, walking around dressed as Ebenezer Scrooge to promote his upcoming and unnecessary Christmas Carol prequel movie. At one point, a crowd gathered to watch Depp, who was accused of abuse by his former wife Amber Heard and won a defamation case against her in 2022, yell “Humbug!” It is all rather embarrassing and pathetic, which seems perfectly on brand for the aging actor who is desperate to be popular again.
Yes, we are getting an Ebenezer Scrooge origin film. It is simply titled Ebenezer and has the tagline, “Before he was Scrooge, he was…” which continues to baffle me every time I read it. Ebenezer sounds like the kind of silly, ill-advised movie Krusty the Clown would star in as part of a Simpsons joke. It’s a movie that only exists because Wonka did shockingly well at the box office a few years ago and some folks in Hollywood went, “Well, who’s a public domain character that sort of looks like Wonka and has a famous name?” and landed on Scrooge.
To help promote this ill-advised flick, Depp got dressed up as Scrooge—sorry, he’s Ebenezer first—and visited San Diego Comic-Con. No better time to promote a Christmas movie than in the middle of summer at a convention dedicated to sci-fi, action, and comic book films.
Johnny Depp surprises fans at SDCC in costume as Ebenezer Scrooge to promote his new film ‘EBENEZER’. pic.twitter.com/LtcakZTUsV
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) July 23, 2026
On Thursday, Depp, dressed as Ebenezer, appeared outside a shop made to look like Scrooge and Marley’s counting house and grumbled at a massive crowd of people in a British accent that sounds like me trying to mock one of my UK buddies. Before he disappeared behind a door, he said with zero passion: “Humbug.” The crowd went wild. “He said it!” exclaimed someone in the crowd. It’s all very bleak.
Later Depp, dressed in character, appeared at a random SDCC panel featuring Zach Cregger and…hung out for a bit. The panel had nothing to do with Depp or Ebenezer. I wonder how many people in that crowd were excited to see Depp dressed as a public domain character? I wonder how many people even knew what was happening?
Anyway, this is Depp’s big chance to try to return to Hollywood after a series of trials, abuse allegations, drug and alcohol problems, and other legal issues. It’s telling that nobody seems willing to give Depp access to a big franchise like Pirates of the Caribbean again. Star Wars ain’t calling. Nor is a movie that would feature his bare face on the poster. Instead, his big comeback role is playing Scrooge in a prequel nobody wants while covered in old man makeup and layers of winter clothing. I’d wish him good luck, but I’d be lying.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to try to wake up from this flu-induced coma I’m clearly stuck in based on all the bullshit and nonsense that has happened over the last few…well, years, at this point. This can’t be reality. Right?