Two Horror Directors Bring Us Christmas Carol Movies (And One Sounds Better)

We don’t get one, but two “Christmas Carol” movies – and to be honest, one of them sounds really good. The other does not!

Last year, author Robert Eggers released his take on the vampire genre – ironically, on Christmas Day 2024 – with “Nosferatu,” which stars Bill Skarsgård as the titular leech alongside Lily-Rose Depp as Ellen Hutter, Nosferatu’s object of affection, Nicholas Hoult as the beleaguered husband of Helen, Thomas, and Willem Dafoe as a professor who tries to help. the couple. That’s why it’s especially exciting that Eggers is working on a “Christmas Carol” movie that he’s both writing. And direction. Additionally, when news of this project was announced in June 2025, we also learned that Dafoe might end up playing Ebenezer Scrooge – the main character from Charles Dickens’ original story who must learn the true meaning of Christmas under significant nighttime duress. (I don’t know about you, but the idea of ​​being visited by three ghosts while you try to close your eyes doesn’t sound fun at first glance. all.)

Now there is a second “Christmas Carol” movie in the works, and with all due respect to writer-director Ti West, I’m… not particularly excited about his Paramount project “Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol,” which is expected to star Johnny Depp and which (as of this writing) is scheduled for a late 2026 theatrical release (per Variety). Not only can we absolutely trust Eggers to breathe new life into such a familiar story, but the collaboration between West and Depp is a real challenge. deeply confusing choice on about 10 different levels.

Throughout his career, Robert Eggers has tackled horror, drama and psychological thrills with films like “The Witch”, “The Northman”, “The Lighthouse” and, of course, “Nosferatu” – but I feel it’s important to note that he tends to doctor period pieces, which makes him a really a very good choice for anything set in Dickens’s England (like, say, “A Christmas Carol”). We still don’t know for sure if Eggers will tap his frequent collaborator Willem Dafoe — who worked specifically on “The Lighthouse,” “The Northman” and “Nosferatu” and is also set to appear in Eggers’ other upcoming project, “Werwulf” — to play Ebenezer Scrooge, but it would be a phenomenal casting choice. Dafoe is, obviously, an incredibly versatile and talented artist with decades of experience under his belt, but he Also tends to thrive in Eggers’ richly drawn historical horror films (and not for nothing, but he definitely has the ideal look and vibe for the misanthropic Scrooge).

Eggers’ films are always set in distant times and places, and he excels at creating a vivid, complete world that existed long before moviegoers sat down for his latest project. “A Christmas Carol” done with Eggers’ sensitivity and style will probably truly be, Really well – seriously, the guy’s track record speaks for itself at this point. So, what do we do with this contrary project?

If you’re not familiar with Ti West, he’s the one behind the “X” trilogy (“X”, “Pearl” and “MaXXXine”), a trio of films released between 2022 and 2024 that focuses on Mia Goth’s dual roles as Maxine Minx and Pearl – and although “Pearl” (the latter character’s origin story) is, in fact, a period piece, it doesn’t exactly reach the heights of Robert Eggers. historical filmography. And then there’s the Johnny Depp of it all.

I don’t need to go into detail regarding Depp, but suffice it to say that the “Pirates of the Caribbean” star has been the subject of a lot of media attention over the past few years due to a number of issues, including his heated legal battle against his ex-wife Amber Heard. In 2020, Depp left the “Fantastic Beasts” franchise, where he played Grindelwald (and was eventually replaced by Mads Mikkelsen), and the films he made shortly before and after, like “Black Mass” and “Minamata,” didn’t exactly receive rave reviews (or didn’t perform particularly well at the box office). Basically, all signs point to Depp being a star in decline, and that’s without even mentioning years of accusations from his co-stars regarding bad behavior on set. Depp is, for SO for many reasons, a frankly absurd choice to play Ebenezer Scrooge, especially when we remember that there is a version of the same story in the works that could star Willem, a fucking Dafoe.

Eggers’ “A Christmas Carol” does not yet have a release date. Meanwhile, “Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol” is currently scheduled to arrive on November 13, 2026, assuming all the pieces fall into place. We’ll see how it goes, I guess!