Johnny Depp has returned to the Hollywood limelight with a surprise appearance at Comic-Con in character as Ebenezer Scrooge.

The Pirates of the Caribbean and Edward Scissorhands star greeted fans in full costume and makeup as the Dickensian antihero, who he’ll play in this year’s star-studded Christmas movie Ebenezer — a project widely seen as Depp’s big Hollywood comeback.

Ebenezer will also feature Ian McKellen, Daisy Ridley, Rupert Grint, Andrea Riseborough and Tramell Tillman in a new twist on the beloved Christmas tale, though all eyes will be on Depp in its starring role — his first major Hollywood part in nearly a decade, following the widely-publicized legal troubles with ex-wife Amber Heard.

This week has seen fans given their best look yet at Depp as Scrooge, via a new trailer (above) and a couple of in-person appearances at San Diego Comic-Con. Depp appeared at a pop-up recreation of his house, chatting away with onlookers and eventually dropping the character’s signature catchphrase of “humbug” to cheers (you can see this in the video below). The actor then popped up unexpectedly during the event’s Directors on Directing panel to reveal Ebenezer’s trailer to the audience.

After years focusing on smaller projects and international films, the path now seems to be opening up for Depp to make a career comeback — though a question mark still hangs over whether he will ever resume his most iconic role: Pirates of the Caribbean’s Captain Jack Sparrow.

Disney has long had plans to continue its buccaneer movie franchise, and producer Jerry Bruckheimer has talked positively of wanting Depp back. Speaking last year, Bruckheimer confirmed “some” previous Pirates of the Caribbean actors would return for the next movie, while offering “a new take” on the franchise overall.

Whether this actually happens, however, remains to be seen — though a positive response to Ebenezer when it arrives this November 13 may change that.

Image credit: Daniel Knighton/Getty Images for Paramount Pictures

Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social