Indeed Johnny Depp had last appeared in a Hollywood film in 2018, in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, then the legal proceedings surrounding his tumultuous split from Amber Heard led to him being ostracized from the star system, forcing him to carry on his career elsewhere. Scrooge and the Spirits of Christmas from Paramount marks his “return” to the circle that truly counts. When, on the red carpet, the Associated Press asked him how he experiences it, Depp clarified once again: return from whose point of view?
Johnny Depp reiterates that he never really left, it depends on the point of view
In fact Johnny Depp, in his involuntary exile from Hollywood, has not been idle: he took part in Jeanne du Barry – The King’s Favorite (2023) by and with Maïwenn, directed Modi – Three Days on the Wings of Madness (2024, with Riccardo Scamarcio in the role of Modigliani), and he also appeared in the independent film The Minamata Case (2020). It remains cinema, and not everyone turned their backs on him, so on the red carpet of Scrooge and the Spirits of Christmas, at 62, he can now joke freely: “How do I feel? Ah, I wouldn’t know. What’s the difference between a Hollywood film and a French film? What’s the difference between a Hollywood film and an English film? I mean, the only difference is that I took a bit of vacation. Fair enough.” Depp shows a willingness to use irony to leave behind a situation that cost other stars their careers (Kevin Spacey is still fighting to be readmitted by the establishment). Ahead of him lies a probable new Pirates of the Caribbean chapter, where he will return as Jack Sparrow, and he is anticipated in the gothic Day Drinker by Marc Webb, to once again perform alongside Penélope Cruz.
Scrooge and the Spirits of Christmas is a reimagining of the famous “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens, offered in various cuts over the years, and in this version leaning on Depp’s histrionic talents: not by chance the original title is simply “Ebenezer.” It is directed by Ti West, and the cast with Depp includes Rupert Grint (Cratchit), Ian McKellen (Marley), Daisy Ridley, Sam Claflin and Andrea Riseborough.
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