That’s right, folks! One of the most famous holiday tales is not only being adapted once again, but both of the adaptations are to be made by modern horror legends. Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol is being directed by Ti West (Pearl, X, MaXXXine), and Robert Eggers (Nosferatu, The Lighthouse, The Witch) is directing his own adaptation of the same story.
West’s version is the one we know the most about. When it was announced in October 2025, it was also announced that Johnny Depp would star as the titular character Ebenezer Scrooge, along with Andrea Riseborough (Mandy, Birdman, The Death of Stalin). It was also said that Nathaniel Halpern (Legion, Tales from the Loop, The Killing) wrote the script, and the film is aiming for a November 2026 release date. Even though the film was announced only recently, it has already faced some criticism. “West working with Depp is a deeply confounding choice on about ten levels,” said movie blog SlashFilm. Of course, there is also the fact that Depp had one of the most publicized court cases of the past five years, and that his career has been messy since then. This can be seen with his film Minamata and his directorial debut Modì, Three Days on the Wings of Madness, being seen as average and critically panned, respectively.
Eggers’ version of the story is much more enigmatic, but it has a lot of potential. The release date is a complete mystery, but it’s most likely to be released sometime in 2027, due to Eggers already having a 2026 release with his film Werwulf, ironically releasing that Christmas. The only information about the film that is currently known is that it is being produced by Chris and Elenor Columbus, developed by Warner Bros. The biggest speculation comes from insiders, who claim that Eggers, who is also writing the film, is eyeing frequent collaborator and “director’s muse” Willem Dafoe (Nosferatu, Spider-Man, Shadow of the Vampire) to play Ebenezer Scrooge. “That would be a phenomenal casting choice…he’s definitely got the ideal look and vibe for the misanthropic Scrooge,” Slashfilm said about the report.
If you asked me which one I’d recommend, my answer would be Eggers’ adaptation. His previous film, Nosferatu, was a gothic, atmospheric masterpiece that was beloved by audiences and critics alike, and even received four different Oscar nominations! All of his previous films have had the same goal of creating eerie, but accurate period pieces and creating epic stories without the need for a massive budget. The only exception being The Northman, which Eggers is quoted with saying, “Frankly, I don’t think I will do it again.” And it seems that his biggest goal is to get fantastic performances from all of his actors, which only makes me dream of who he’ll get for other characters in the film. Just imagine how terrifying he could make characters like Jacob Marley and The Ghost of Christmas Future!
However, I’m not at all a professional critic, so it’s not up to me to decide which one you should see. It’s up to you! So make sure you follow the news of each of these films and see which one you want to see! Considering when the films are supposed to be released, maybe you’ll see both to compare and contrast the adaptations of a classic story through the lenses of two of horror’s best directors working today.
