Johnny Depp Returns to Hollywood in "Ebenezer": $5 Million Payday, Scrooge Role and a Pirates Comeback Question
Depp plays Ebenezer Scrooge, the miser at the centre of the classic story, appearing under extensive prosthetics and make-up in a version that leans into the darker, more unsettling corners of Dickens' 1843 novella. The film is directed by Ti West, the filmmaker behind the horror hit X (2022), and takes a horror-inspired approach to one of the most adapted stories in the holiday canon.
A Fraction of His Old Payday
Depp is reportedly earning a fraction of his previous Hollywood pay for the comeback. A wire service report says the actor received $5 million for Ebenezer — a long way from the $20 million-plus paydays of his peak years, but a deliberate step in a slow, closely watched rebuild of his career. The production reportedly carries a budget of $38 million, and box office tracking projects an opening weekend of around $20 million in the United States, with a further $20 million expected across international markets.
The film lands at the end of a long road back. Depp's standing in Hollywood shifted dramatically during his highly publicised legal dispute with former wife Amber Heard. The 2022 defamation trial ended with a jury awarding Depp $10 million in compensatory damages, while Heard was awarded $2 million. Since then, Depp has worked mostly in smaller European productions while Hollywood kept its distance.
A Heavyweight Cast Around Him
Depp is joined by an ensemble that underlines the scale of the production. Rupert Grint plays Bob Cratchit, with Daisy Ridley as Emily Cratchit. Sir Ian McKellen appears as Jacob Marley, while Andrea Riseborough and Tramell Tillman take on the Ghost of Christmas Past and the Ghost of Christmas Present respectively.
The transformation is part of the draw: Depp appears as Scrooge under extensive prosthetics and make-up, in a gothic retelling that plays up the story's ghosts and shadows rather than its sentiment. It is a deliberately different kind of Christmas film — and a deliberately different kind of comeback, built on character work rather than the blockbuster franchises that once defined him.
And Depp is not stopping at Scrooge. He is also set to appear opposite Penélope Cruz in Lionsgate's Day Drinker, due in 2027 — another sign that the industry's doors are opening again.
Could Jack Sparrow Sail Again?
With Ebenezer in theatres, attention is inevitably turning to the character that made Depp a global box office draw. Pirates of the Caribbean 6 is in development, and producer Jerry Bruckheimer has previously confirmed that discussions have taken place about bringing the actor back — and has said he would love to work with Depp again.
Depp himself has now addressed the possibility. Speaking to Entertainment Tonight, he said he would be open to returning as Captain Jack Sparrow, but only under specific circumstances. "If things are exactly where they need to be with regard to how they are going to top off the Pirates franchise… the only involvement I really want to have, truly, is just to send them off on a better note," he said. "I will go to work with [Jerry] Bruckheimer tomorrow for anything. Doesn't matter…"
Disney has not confirmed that Depp will return, and no deal has been announced. For now, a Pirates return remains a possibility rather than a plan — but after years away, Depp is back in the conversation, and Ebenezer is his opening argument.
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