TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Johnny Depp delighted fans at San Diego Comic Con on Thursday, July 23, by making a surprise appearance in full makeup and costume as Ebenezer Scrooge. The 63-year-old actor donned head-to-toe Victorian attire to promote his upcoming film Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol, directed by Ti West.
Depp was first seen at around 2:30 p.m. in San Diego’s Gaslamp district outside a pop-up store named "Scrooge and Marley." Dressed in a top hat and dark coat while leaning on a cane, Depp appeared nearly unrecognizable with heavy gray facial hair and aging makeup.
Video coverage from Entertainment Weekly showed Depp staying in character while interacting with the crowd. When an onlooker shouted, "Good day to you, Mr. Scrooge," Depp replied, "What’s so pleasant about it?"
He also bantered with attendees dressed as his previous iconic characters, including Captain Jack Sparrow and the Mad Hatter, teasing the gathered crowd by asking, "Have you no jobs? It seems as though you have so much spare time. I work."
While The Hollywood Reporter noted that Depp was not officially scheduled for any convention panels, he later made his way inside the convention center. During Collider’s "Directors on Directing" panel in Hall H, the room dimmed before Depp walked onto the stage holding a candle.
According to Variety, Depp looked over the audience before asking, "Have you all no lives?" He then tossed handfuls of candy onto the stage floor, telling the crowd to "have at it," just before an eerie voice echoed over the speakers repeating Scrooge's name. Paramount Pictures released the first trailer for the film shortly after his stage appearance.
Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol, scheduled for a theatrical release on November 13, marks Depp’s return to major Hollywood studio projects following years of legal battles and off-screen publicity. First reported by Deadline in October 2025, the film is a gothic reimagining of Charles Dickens’ classic 1843 novella, depicting a supernatural journey through 19th-century London as Scrooge confronts his past, present, and future.
Depp previously expressed his personal connection to the Charles Dickens classic at a CinemaCon presentation earlier this year. "It really has been an extraordinary privilege," Depp said regarding the role, adding that Scrooge's story is one "I have been obsessed with since I was a little child."
The Paramount release features a star-studded cast, including Rupert Grint as Bob Cratchit, Andrea Riseborough as the Ghost of Christmas Past, Tramell Tillman as the Ghost of Christmas Present, and Ian McKellen as Jacob Marley, alongside Sam Claflin, Daisy Ridley, Arthur Conti, Ellie Bamber, Henry Lloyd-Hughes, and Charlie Murphy.
Speaking to Variety in April at the New York premiere of The Christophers, the 87-year-old McKellen praised his time working alongside Johnny Depp. "He’s in spankingly good form. Effervescent, funny, irreverent, serious—all at the same time. I fell in love with him," McKellen said.
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