Johnny Depp surprised fans on Thursday when he showed up at San Diego Comic-Con dressed as Ebenezer Scrooge.
The “Sleepy Hollow” actor was photographed wearing a top hat and heavy overcoat, carrying a cane, and playing the iconic miser from “Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol” at the annual gala.
The almost unrecognizable actor made a surprise appearance sporting bushy eyebrows, a mottled gray beard and long sideburns.
In one photo, he peers through a frost-covered window pane, and in another emerges from what appears to be a reproduction of a snow-covered doorway.
Depp, 63, was photographed being greeted by cosplayers dressed as some of the most iconic characters from previous films, including Willy Wonka from 2005’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Edward Scissorhands from the 1990 classic Pirates of the Caribbean series, and Captain Jack Sparrow from the Pirates of the Caribbean series (2003-2017).
Elsewhere at the pop culture convention, he took to the legendary Hall H stage as Ebenezer, holding a menorah that had burned out and turned into a short stump.
A trailer for the Ti West-directed film was also released online Thursday.
The actor was previously photographed on the film’s London set, looking as unrecognizable in costume as his Charles Dickens character.
In a photo released in February, Depp was seen wearing a navy blue robe and a hat covering his ears, along with co-star Andrea Riseborough, who plays the Ghost of Christmas Past, dressed head to toe in white.
“Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol” also stars Ian McKellen, Daisy Ridley, Sam Claflin and Rupert Grint.
The film is scheduled to be released on November 13th.
The role marks Depp’s return to mainstream Hollywood cinema after winning a defamation lawsuit against ex-wife Amber Heard in 2022.
He had sued Mr. Heard for $50 million in 2018, claiming that Mr. Heard defamed him in a Washington Post op-ed about the abuse.
In the end, the “Aquaman” actress was ordered to pay Depp $15 million, but was also awarded $2 million as a counterclaim.
That same year, they settled the lawsuit, with Ms. Heard agreeing to pay her ex-husband $1 million.
Heard has since moved to Spain, where she is raising her children Oona Page, 5, and twins Ocean and Agnes, 1.
Ahead of his legal showdown with Heard in the US, he lost a 2020 libel suit against Britain’s Sun newspaper for labeling him a “wife beater” in a headline based on Heard’s claims.
