Johnny Depp
Returns to Hollywood
With Starring Role in Holiday Flick
Published October 23, 2025 12:43 PM PDT
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Updated October 23, 2025 2:16 PM PDT
Johnny Depp is making his big Hollywood return … booking the starring role in the latest re-imagining of a Charles Dickens holiday classic, TMZ has confirmed.
Source tells us … Depp is in final negotiations to play the namesake in “Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol” … which is in the works at Paramount Pictures, and will also star Andrea Riseborough.
This ‘Carol’ iteration is described as … “A thrilling ghost story set in Dickens’ London, follows one man’s supernatural journey to face his past, present and future and fight for a second chance.”
A source close to Johnny tells TMZ … It’s been a very busy year with a lot more exciting projects on the horizon. “Modi,” which he directed and stars Al Pacino & Stephen Graham, hits US theaters November 7 — and his art exhibition “A Bunch of Stuff” makes its way to Tokyo next month. We hear he also had a blast shooting “Day Drinker” with Penelope Cruz … and is now gearing up for what’s sure to be another iconic role in ‘Ebenezer.’
This is major news … ’cause this will be Depp’s first big-budget studio flick since his fall from grace over the Amber Heard saga.
As you recall … Johnny and Amber married in 2015 before separating just 15 months later … and, in 2019, their relationship received renewed attention when JD sued AH for defamation over a 2018 Washington Post op-ed she wrote about domestic violence.
After years of litigation — and a trial broadcast millions watched — a jury ruled mostly in favor of Depp … awarding him millions in damages. Heard was awarded a couple million in her countersuit by the same jury.
Since then, Depp has mostly been starring in independent and smaller studio films and doing commercial work … but it seems pretty clear Hollywood is ready to bring him back into the fold.
The new take on Dickens’ classic is scheduled to drop in theaters in November 2026.
