Johnny Depp Confirms Ebenezer’s A Nightmare on Elm Street Reference Was a Happy Accident

Johnny Depp’s latest role is Ebenezer, director Ti West’s new take on the Charles Dickens classic tale, A Christmas Story. The film features a nod to Depp’s very first feature film, but this was completely happenstance.

As seen in the trailer for Ebenezer, there’s a moment when Depp’s Ebenezer Scrooge is pulled down into his bed to start his journey. It’s very similar to when Depp’s character was pulled into his bed by Freddy Krueger in 1984’s A Nightmare on Elm Street, which was the future A-lister’s debut film. Depp and West spoke with Grae Drake of CBR about the connection on the Ebenezer red carpet, confirming that it was coincidental. That scene had been written before Depp’s casting, though West admitted it was an homage to A Nightmare on Elm Street.

Johnny Depp Said the Nod Had to Stay in Ebenezer

“We had put that in the script before I knew Johnny was going to be in the movie,” West said. “It just seemed like, this is a cool way to pull him into the past, and yeah, it’s a nod to A Nightmare on Elm Street, and that’s great. Then, when he wanted to do the movie, I had a little panic, because I thought, ‘Oh, he would never be in the movie. What if, maybe he doesn’t want to do that?'”

The director continued, “And so, I called him, and he kind of thought about it for a second. He was like, ‘No, we have to do it. That was my first movie. That’s exactly how it should go back to the past.’ So, it was a really weird, cosmic way of it all coming together.”

“I love that sort of bookend,” Depp also said. “Technology has deeply improved. Wes Craven’s was like, a spinning room and stuff. Nah, this was just a bunch of very strong men, they would catch me when I dropped [through the bed].”

Ebenezer Throws Back to Johnny Depp’s Very First Film

Johnny Depp as Glen in A Nightmare On Elm Street

In A Nightmare on Elm Street, Depp played Glen Lantz, the boyfriend of Heather Langenkamp’s Nancy Thompson. Skeptical that Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund) can kill him in his dreams, Glen allows himself to fall asleep while watching TV in bed. He is suddenly pulled into a gaping hole in his bed, which then shoots out an enormous geyser of blood all over the room’s ceiling and walls. This was the first of many big roles for Depp, but the actor has clearly not forgotten about his roots, given that he’s happy to leave the Elm Street nod in the new film.

Along with Depp in the titular role, Ebenezer also stars Rupert Grint, Ian McKellen, Sam Claflin, Daisy Ridley, Andrea Riseborough, Tramell Tillman, Robert Strange, and Ellie Bamber. Nathaniel Halpern penned the script, while Ti West directed.

Ebenezer will be released in movie theaters on Nov. 13, 2026.