Written 2nd October 2026 | Subscribe to our Christmas newsletter
A brand-new trailer has arrived for one of the biggest Christmas movies of 2026 — and this time we’re getting a much better look at the ghosts coming to haunt Ebenezer Scrooge.
Paramount Pictures has released the second official trailer for Ebenezer, starring Johnny Depp as the legendary Charles Dickens character, ahead of the film’s cinema release this November.
And while the first trailer introduced us to Depp’s grumpy, snowball-throwing Scrooge, the new footage really leans into the supernatural side of A Christmas Carol.
Watch trailer:
The latest trailer opens with the familiar festive world of Victorian London, but things quickly become considerably darker for Scrooge.
Ian McKellen’s Jacob Marley delivers his warning that Scrooge will be haunted by three spirits, setting up the terrifying Christmas night that could change his life forever.
We then get new glimpses of the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come, alongside more of the strange and unsettling visions Scrooge will encounter.
The film is directed by Ti West, best known for horror movies including X, Pearl and MaXXXine, and that influence is becoming much clearer in the new trailer. This may be a Christmas movie, but Paramount certainly isn’t shying away from the ghost-story origins of Dickens’ tale.
Johnny Depp Transforms Into Ebenezer Scrooge
Johnny Depp is almost unrecognisable beneath the hair, makeup and prosthetics used to transform him into the elderly Ebenezer Scrooge.
The new trailer gives us more of Depp’s performance too — from the bad-tempered miser we all know to a visibly frightened Scrooge confronted by the supernatural consequences of the life he has created.
Prosthetics for Depp and other characters were created by the BGFX team in collaboration with makeup and hair designer Amanda Knight.
Ebenezer also marks Depp’s first major Hollywood studio movie in several years, making the film one of the more high-profile Christmas releases arriving in cinemas this year.
Who Plays the Ghosts in Ebenezer?
The new trailer gives us a closer look at the impressive cast surrounding Depp.
Ian McKellen plays Scrooge’s deceased former business partner Jacob Marley, while Andrea Riseborough appears as the Ghost of Christmas Past and Tramell Tillman plays the Ghost of Christmas Present.
Robert Strange is credited as the Ghost of Christmas Future.
Rupert Grint plays Bob Cratchit, Sam Claflin is Scrooge’s nephew Fred and Arthur Conti plays a younger Ebenezer. Ellie Bamber appears as Belle, with Daisy Ridley, Charlie Murphy and Henry Lloyd-Hughes also among the cast.
A Darker A Christmas Carol?
What is especially interesting about Ebenezer is the way director Ti West appears to be treating A Christmas Carol as a genuine ghost story.
Modern adaptations sometimes soften the frightening elements of Dickens’ story, but the new trailer suggests Ebenezer will make the supernatural encounters a major part of the experience.
West has previously spoken about how adaptations of A Christmas Carol were among his early introductions to horror, which makes him an intriguing choice to bring Dickens’ ghosts back to the big screen.
That doesn’t mean the movie looks like a straight horror film, though.
The footage still contains humour, snow-covered Victorian streets, Christmas celebrations and the themes of redemption at the heart of the original story. Rotten Tomatoes currently categorises the film across holiday, fantasy, comedy and drama.
Is Ebenezer a Faithful Version of A Christmas Carol?
The marketing has repeatedly used the line:
“The name you know, the story you don’t.”
That has led to plenty of speculation about how dramatically the film might change Scrooge’s story.
However, the trailers still contain many of the central elements audiences will recognise from Charles Dickens’ 1843 novella — Jacob Marley, Bob Cratchit and the visits from the spirits of Christmas Past, Present and Future.
The film also introduces Arthur Conti as Young Ebenezer, suggesting Scrooge’s earlier life will form an important part of the story.
Exactly how far the movie expands or changes Dickens’ original story remains to be seen.
When Is Ebenezer Released?
Ebenezer is scheduled to arrive in US cinemas on November 13, 2026, with international release dates falling around the same week.
With Johnny Depp as Scrooge, Ian McKellen as Marley, Rupert Grint as Bob Cratchit and horror director Ti West behind the camera, it is shaping up to be one of the most unusual — and certainly one of the biggest — new Christmas movies of 2026.
And after seeing this second trailer, it looks like anyone expecting a cosy, straightforward retelling of A Christmas Carol could be in for something considerably darker.
Are you excited to see Johnny Depp as Ebenezer Scrooge?
Ebenezer arrives in cinemas this November.
