What do you get when you combine Tim Burton, Johnny Depp and the man who gave us Abe Lincoln: Vampire Hunter? The answer is Dark Shadows.
Based on the 1960s gothic serial, this has been a project that Tim Burton has been wanting to do for years. Burton’s longtime collaborator, Johnny Depp, has also had an obsession of wanting to play the role of vampire Barnabas Collins. Production was said to start in January, but according to Deadline the date has been pushed back to April.
The supernatural soap originally ran on ABC from 1966-1971. Since it went off the air the series has seen its cult following grow due to the series being released on VHS and now DVD. Episodes 210–1245 (Barnabas’ arrival through to the end of the series) were released on DVD in 26 Collections from 2002 through 2006. Episodes 1–209 were released in 2007 under the title of Dark Shadows: The Beginning.
Before Seth Grahame-Smith (Abe Lincoln: Vampire Hunter) was hired to write the script, the first screenwriter hired was John August, who also wrote Burton’s Big Fish, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and the upcoming Frankenweenie.
With the April state date, it looks like it will derail Depp’s chanes to star alongside Tom Hanks in Kathryn Bigelow’s Triple Frontier, since it is supposed to go before the lens in February. Considering that Depp’s production company is helping to finance Dark Shadows, that project takes precedence.
