EBENEZER: Clive Owen Joins Scrooge Horror Movie

San Diego - Johnny Depp made an unannounced appearance at Comic-Con’s Hall H on Friday, striding onto the stage in full Scrooge regalia to introduce the first trailer for Ebenezer, a film he described as a deeply personal passion project. The actor, who has kept a relatively low public profile in recent years, told the stunned crowd that the role marked a significant return to creative work he loves.

“It’s good to be back,” Depp said, dressed in a frock coat and top hat, as he stood before the audience. “This story has haunted me for years, and bringing it to life in a way nobody expects felt like the right thing to do.”

The newly released trailer, which screened exclusively for the Hall H audience, presents a radical reimagining of Charles Dickens’ classic. Ebenezer transposes the Victorian tale of redemption to the American frontier, casting Depp’s Scrooge as a land baron, a crack-shot gunfighter, and a card sharp who cheats his way to wealth. The teaser opened on a dust-choked saloon, where Depp’s character coolly wins a poker hand with a second ace hidden up his sleeve, before dissolving into surreal, sweeping shots of ghostly riders across a desert landscape.

According to the film’s official logline, the story follows Scrooge as a man “visited by three spirits who attempt to teach him the true meaning of Christmas.” The spirits retain their Dickensian identities but are rendered as frontier archetypes: the Ghost of Christmas Past appears as a lone traveler in buckskins, while the Ghost of Christmas Present is a larger-than-life figure in a fur coat, a far cry from the traditional jolly giant.

The film was actually completed in 1998 and carries a modest 89-minute runtime. It is classified as a drama, fantasy, and Western television movie. Despite its age, the footage shown on Friday has never been publicly released in this form, and Depp’s involvement suggests a re-edited or newly restored version may be headed to streaming or limited theatrical release. The original director is Ken Jubenvill, a filmmaker known for television productions in the late 1990s.

The cast assembled for the original production is notable. The iconic Jack Palance originally portrayed Ebenezer Scrooge in the 1998 version, alongside Rick Schroder as Samuel Benson, Amy Locane as Erica Marlowe, and a supporting group that includes Richard Comar, Michelle Thrush, Richard Halliday, Susan Coyne, and Joshua Silberg. The TMDb rating for the original film sits at a modest 3.75 out of 10, a score that Depp’s involvement may significantly alter if the new version draws fresh critical and audience attention.

Depp’s appearance at Comic-Con was tightly guarded. He did not field questions from the audience, but he spoke directly to the crowd after the trailer concluded, explaining his connection to the material. “Scrooge is not just a miser,” Depp said. “In this story, he’s a man who has used violence and deceit to survive on the frontier. He has to learn that there is more to life than the next hand or the next claim. It is a human story, and I think we all need that reminder.”

The actor’s return to a comic-convention stage is itself newsworthy. Since the conclusion of the Pirates of the Caribbean series and after a series of highly publicized legal battles, Depp has worked selectively. Ebenezer appears to be one of the few projects he has chosen to champion personally, and his decision to debut the trailer at the world’s largest pop-culture gathering signals a desire to reconnect with a fan base that has remained loyal through turbulent years.

The standing ovation that greeted Depp as he walked off stage suggests that connection remains strong. Many in the audience had not known the film existed prior to the screening, and the combination of Depp’s star power, the startling genre twist on a classic, and the 1998 release date created a sense of discovery unusual for a major convention panel.

No official release date for the new version of Ebenezer has been announced, though insiders suggest a holiday-season release on a major streaming platform is under discussion. For now, Depp’s appearance has ensured that one of Dickens’ oldest tales is once again the talk of the convention floor, this time told with six-shooters and stetsons.

Source: Deadline