Rupert Grint Joins Johnny Depp for His Biggest Post-Harry Potter Film

Rupert Grint is back on the big screen, and he did not pick a small, safe project. He has joined Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol at Paramount, which also happens to be Johnny Depp's big studio return. If you have been wondering what Grint would do post-Wizarding World, this is the loudest answer he has given in years.

Grint picks the big swing

Deadline says Grint has signed on for Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol, directed by Ti West. His specific role is still under wraps, but just attaching himself to this one is already the most high-profile film move he has made since the Potter films wrapped. He is also, notably, lining up with another Wizarding World alum: Depp played Grindelwald in the Fantastic Beasts movies. Fans are buzzing, and understandably so.

Meanwhile, Emma Watson is genuinely happy off-camera

For contrast, Emma Watson has been very open about staying away from acting for now. In a chat with Hollywood Authentic, she said stepping back has made her 'happiest and healthiest.' And she did not mince words about why the industry grind turned her off:

'A bigger component than the actual job itself is the promotion and selling of that piece of work, this piece of art. The balance of that can get quite thrown off. I think I'll be honest and straight-forward, and say: I do not miss selling things. I found that to be quite soul-destroying.'

So while Watson is content with privacy and fewer obligations, Grint is clearly heading in the opposite direction: back into ambitious studio cinema.

The movie: Dickens, but with teeth

Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol is a fresh take on Charles Dickens' classic, this time leaning hard into the ghost story lurking under the holiday lights. Ti West is steering it as a darker, supernatural-forward thriller set in Dickens-era London, more hauntings and psychological tension than festive glow. Paramount currently has it on the calendar for November 13, 2026.

Depp is leading the film as Ebenezer Scrooge, which positions this as his biggest studio project since his legal battle with ex-wife Amber Heard. Genre-wise, it is listed as Fantasy/Adventure, but the creative pitch is clearly spikier and more unnerving than traditional versions. Expect Scrooge's past, present, and future to hit harder, with redemption feeling more like a fight than a warm hug.

The cast so far

• Johnny Depp
• Rupert Grint
• Sam Claflin
• Charlie Murphy
• Daisy Ridley
• Arthur Conti
• Ellie Bamber
• Andrea Riseborough
• Ian McKellen
• Tramell Tillman

Short version: Grint is making a statement, Depp is mounting a comeback, and Ti West is turning a Christmas staple into a full-on ghost story. Curious to see who Grint ends up playing, but either way, this one just became a 2026 watchlist staple.