Johnny Depp has made a high-profile Comic-Con appearance in costume as Ebenezer Scrooge, alongside the first trailer for Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol. The film is being viewed as his major return to Hollywood after nearly a decade without a leading role in a large US production, following years of smaller and international projects amid public legal disputes with Amber Heard.

Depp greeted fans at a pop-up recreation of Scrooge’s home and later introduced the trailer during a Comic-Con panel. The film, due for release on 13 November, also stars Ian McKellen, Daisy Ridley, Rupert Grint, Andrea Riseborough and Tramell Tillman; its reception could influence speculation over whether Depp might return as Captain Jack Sparrow in a future Pirates of the Caribbean film.