We’re halfway through October, which means don’t get too comfortable with those Halloween decorations; Christmas is knocking on that door, demanding you start sipping hot cocoa and putting on knit sweaters in 60-degree weather. This year, you can also watch yet another version of Charles Dickens’ holiday classic A Christmas Carol—the first teaser of Apple TV+’s Spirited is here.
In this musical-comedy twist of the haunting Christmas tale, Will Ferrell stars as the Ghost of Christmas Present, visiting Ryan Reynolds’ Scrooge-like Clint Briggs to embark on a journey through his life with the three spirits. As the teaser shows in grand fashion, there will be a lot of intricate musical numbers from La La Land’s Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, but we’ll see if they can even compete with fellow Dickens adaptation A Muppet Christmas Carol and the introductory banger that is “Scrooge.”
Below, the synopsis of the holiday film dives into how, much like switching late-night appearances, Ferrell and Reynolds’ will be taking on slightly different roles in this Dickens adaptation:
“Each Christmas Eve, the Ghost of Christmas Present (Will Ferrell) selects one dark soul to be reformed by a visit from three spirits. But this season, he picked the wrong Scrooge. Clint Briggs (Ryan Reynolds) turns the tables on his ghostly host until Present finds himself reexamining his own past, present and future. For the first time, A Christmas Carol is told from the perspective of the ghosts in this hilarious musical twist on the classic Dickens tale.”
The cast includes Will Ferrell, Ryan Reynolds, Octavia Spencer, Sunita Mani (GLOW), Patrick Page (In The Heights), Joe Tippett (Mare of Easttown), Marlow Barkley (Single Parents), and Jen Tullock (Severance).
Directing this re-imagining of Dickens’ novel is Sean Anders (Daddy’s Home), who also wrote the movie beside John Morris (Instant Family). Joining as executive producers on the project are Diana Pokorny, Benj Pasek, and Justin Paul.
Visit the Ghosts of Christmas (once again) when Spirited premieres in theaters November 11 and globally on Apple TV+ on November 18.