There is, perhaps, more than a hint of irony about Johnny Depp's return to Hollywood.

Exclusive pictures reveal that the star is back on set as Charles Dickens' anti-hero, Ebenezer Scrooge, in a new adaptation of A Christmas Carol. 

Depp plays a man on the fringes of society, forced to confront his misdeeds before emerging as a changed man.

It will be his first big-budget film in four years following a 2022 court showdown in which he was accused of abusing his ex-wife, actress Amber Heard, in a case which highlighted their volatile relationship.

An appearance in French language film Jeanne du Barry aside, it appeared that major studios had written him off.

But if the Pirates of the Caribbean star is now reinventing himself, the 63-year-old certainly appeared unrecognisable in character for his new role.

Depp was dressed in a blue brocade overcoat and black cap, and sporting long grey sideburns.

The actor was seen shivering and laughing between takes with his co-star, Andrea Riseborough.

Dickens' classic 1843 novel centres on Scrooge, an elderly miser, who is visited on Christmas Eve by the ghost of his former business partner Jacob Marley, and the spirits of Christmas past, present and yet to come.

Riseborough, 44, who stars as the ghost of Christmas past, wore an ephemeral white gown, a white wig and appeared to have white contact lenses in her eyes to complete the ghostly effect.

The production has an all-star cast which includes Sir Ian McKellen, Star Wars actress Daisy Ridley, Bohemian Rhapsody's Ellie Bamber, Harry Potter star Rupert Grint, Severance's Tramell Tillman and Sam Claflin, who appeared in The Hunger Games.

But it faces tough competition. Another version is also in production by Warner Bros, directed by Nosferatu's Robert Eggers and starring Willem Defoe.

Depp has described reports of his life over the last few years as 'fantastically, horrifically written fiction' and has dismissed any idea that he has not been working.

'I've had about 17 comebacks, and I don't understand it because I didn't go anywhere,' he said in 2023. 'It's a bizarre mystery.'

Depp will also star alongside Penelope Cruz in action film Day Drinker later this year. 

There are rumours he is in discussion with Pirates of the Caribbean producer Jerry Bruckheimer about reprising his role as Jack Sparrow for a sixth film.

Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol is expected to be in cinemas in November.