Johnny Depp Is Scrooge in Ti West's Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol, Out November 13

Photo: Harald Krichel, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Paramount has Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol scheduled for November 13, with Johnny Depp as Ebenezer Scrooge and Ti West directing. West is best known for the X, Pearl and MaXXXine films, so this is an interesting choice for a story that has been filmed more times than I can count.

Photo: Southbanksteve, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The cast is a strong one. Ian McKellen plays Jacob Marley, Andrea Riseborough is the Ghost of Christmas Past and Tramell Tillman is the Ghost of Christmas Present. Rupert Grint plays Bob Cratchit, Daisy Ridley plays Emily Cratchit and Sam Claflin plays Scrooge's nephew Fred. That is a lot of talent for a ghost story.

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The trailer, as reports describe it, leans on the dark, spooky side of Dickens, and I welcome that. We forget that A Christmas Carol is a ghost story first. It was published in December 1843 and it opens with a dead man, so a director with a horror background is a sensible fit.

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I am a little wary of any remake with a famous name in the middle, because the temptation is to make it about the star. Depp has not been in many big releases lately, so there will be curiosity. If West keeps the focus on the story and the atmosphere, this could be a good fit for a November evening.

Book title page: John Leech, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Which version of A Christmas Carol is your favourite? Mine is still the Muppets, and I will say that without shame.