Johnny Depp became a household name playing misunderstood monsters, eccentrics, and Disney-friendly scallywags, but in the last few years, Hollywood has turned him into a different sort of outcast.
“Ebenezer,” distributed by Paramount Pictures, is Depp’s first major Hollywood feature since he sued his ex-wife, Amber Heard, in 2019 for publishing an essay about domestic abuse, widely assumed to describe her relationship with Depp (which he denied), and the explosive defamation trial that followed.
Jurors found both Depp and Heard liable for defamation, and they reached a settlement in 2022 — though not before testimonies and documents entered into evidence exposed disturbing details, from a photo of feces on the couple’s shared bed (Depp blamed Heard, while Heard blamed their dog), to texts that Depp wrote about burning and drowning his ex-wife, and having sex with her “burnt corpse” (Depp said he’s “not proud” of the messages, which he described as “dark humor”).
Depp’s professional reputation had suffered blows long before he took the stand. He lost a similar libel case in 2020 after the British newspaper The Sun called him a “wife-beater,” and was subsequently ousted from lucrative franchise roles in the next installment of the “Harry Potter” spin-off film series, “Fantastic Beasts,” and “Pirates of the Caribbean 6.” Before that, Depp was mired in complex legal battles with his former business partners over his admittedly lavish spending. Rumors swirled about Depp’s tardiness and unprofessionalism on set amid a series of box-office flops.
But the years have passed, and Hollywood may be cautiously welcoming Depp back into the fold. Many thousands of Depp supporters have stayed staunchly, outspokenly loyal to the star. Social media reactions to the defamation trial were overwhelmingly sympathetic to Depp amid reports of a targeted smear campaign to discredit Heard. By the time the actual jurors handed down their judgment, it looked like Depp had already been vindicated online.
“Ebenezer” is positioned as Depp’s big Hollywood comeback, complete with a splashy marketing campaign and top-line billing for its embattled star.
“The Master of Misfits returns,” one of the studio’s taglines declares, with marketing materials drawing a connection between the film’s title character and the man who “brought us Jack Sparrow, Edward Scissorhands, and The Mad Hatter.”
Yet “Ebenezer” isn’t just another misfit role for Depp to add to his résumé. Scrooge’s near-two-century life in the pop-culture canon is proof that audiences love a redemption story. Is Depp about to get his?
Paramount is certainly manifesting it. The first shot of Depp in character as Scrooge in the “Ebenezer” teaser trailer breaks the fourth wall, as Depp delivers his line to the camera with a knowing expression: “It’s good to be back.”
Depp’s path to redemption depends on his commercial value
Casting Depp in “Ebenezer” was a gamble for Paramount, but a cheaper gamble than one might imagine. Where Depp once fetched $25 million up front for 2017’s “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales,” the total budget for “Ebenezer” was $38 million. The New York Times reported that Depp accepted a reduced salary of roughly $5 million in exchange for a larger share of the proceeds if the movie performs at the box office. In other words, for an established movie star, he was a steal.
Representatives for Depp and Paramount did not respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.
Paramount is certainly throwing its weight behind “Ebenezer,” with the presumed expectation it will pay off in ticket sales. Depp has appeared in full Charles Dickens drag — top hat, overcoat, heavy prosthetics — for several promotional stunts, from New York’s Bryant Park holiday market to San Diego’s Comic-Con, where he drew an adoring crowd. According to The New York Times, one woman even called out to him, “Have my baby!”
The movie’s trailers and posters have relied heavily on name recognition for the actor and the character, betting on audiences to re-embrace both. As far as the promo is concerned, Depp and Scrooge are one and the same: a man with his feet to the fire, seeking salvation.
“The studio is trying to test the public’s willingness to embrace Johnny Depp again after all of the personal crises,” said Tara Goodwin, founder of Goodwin Consulting and a crisis PR veteran. “This is allowing him, through the character Ebenezer, to be judged by his work rather than in a court of law or the court of public opinion.”
“One movie, one PR stunt, does not rebuild a reputation,” she added. “But it does change the conversation from his personal narrative to his professional one.”
Will that be enough to get butts in seats? As PR professionals have told me over and over, the public is more forgiving than you think — especially if the celebrity in question has nostalgia to leverage.
“Johnny Depp, his fans go back 40 years. They still remember him as the kid on ’21 Jump Street.’ In a lot of ways, he’s a symbol of Generation X,” said Ryan McCormick, cofounder and managing partner at Goldman McCormick PR. “Some of his iconic roles automatically pull people into a different era of time, like when they were younger and maybe when the world wasn’t so crazy or intense.”
In that sense, Scrooge is the perfect character for Depp: a familiar face who learns to appreciate the generosity of others. He’s the universal shorthand for second chances.
‘Ebenezer’ doesn’t have to be great, as long as it makes money
According to early reviews from critics — including this one — “Ebenezer” isn’t a great movie; it currently holds a 49% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes at the time of publication. Helmed by horror director Ti West, it’s meant to be a spookier-than-usual adaptation of Dickens’ classic novella. I found it to be insipid and tedious, caught somewhere between a trite Christmas parable and a Halloween fright fest.
Your opinion of Depp’s performance will depend on your tolerance for hammy commitment, as a prosthetic-laden Depp gesticulates and mugs his way through a series of ghostly encounters — clearly attempting to recapture the smarmy charm of Jack Sparrow, reincarnated as a 19th-century grump.
But critics’ assessments likely won’t matter to Depp or any studios eyeing him for employment. Negative reviews are small potatoes if the theaters are crowded and the box office returns are strong.
“It’s the people that make the difference. It’s not the critics,” Goodwin said.
If the people like it, Hollywood seems willing to hire Depp again. Sources told NBC News that a new “Pirates 6” script featuring the return of Depp as Sparrow has been kicked around at Disney. Studio executives are reportedly waiting to see how “Ebenezer” is received before giving “Pirates 6” the green light.
In the meantime, Depp already has his next movie lined up: “Day Drinker,” a thriller costarring Depp’s old friend Penélope Cruz, will be released by Lionsgate in March.
Mia Moody, a professor in the Department of Journalism, Public Relations, and New Media at Baylor University and an expert in Image Repair Theory, agreed with Goodwin and McCormick that the future of Depp’s comeback will depend heavily on the box office. The meta-narrative of “Ebenezer” as long-standing gospel — that no one, not even the bah-humbuggiest among us, is beyond redemption — is mostly a bonus.
“Hollywood is different in general when you’re looking at image repair, because it’s not necessarily governed by moral consensus. It’s more governed by commercial viability,” Moody said. “So if Johnny Depp can have a hit and if his movie can make money, then that’s the bottom line.”
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