Yes! This makes me sooooo happy!

I grew up watching the original and enjoyed it, warts and all.

Were it anyone other than Burton & Depp; I would have some trepidation.
Burton has a fine sense of macabre style. Depp can nail a complex character that is part villain, part hero.
If anyone can manage a big screen 'Dark Shadows' successfully, it would be them.

Can't wait to see it!!!

I just hope that they don't do any thing rash with the character of Barnabas Collins and try to update him too much. It's just I'm tired of these new vampires. It seems that now vampires, even though they are creatures that can exist for centuries, still haven't been able to get past that pesky, puberty driven teen angst.

The NBC series has the unique distinction of being pre-empted and ultimately canceled by a war. The Two hour premier pulled good numbers and had a cliffhanger that I'm sure would have brought back most of the audience for the first series episode, but in between the land war in Kuwait started. Pretty tough competition to buck so it faded away.

Please tell me this is a joke! Johnny Depp as Barnabas? Uggh! And Tim Burton? They'll take a classic and twist it until it is unrecognizable. Go back to France! We don't need Barnabas Collins played as a vaguely gay drunken pirate!

Its gonna be gold! Gold I tell ya!

AWESOME!!!! I loved that show - bad effects and all. And I love Depp. This will be great

Please tell me this is a joke! Johnny Depp as Barnabas? Uggh! And Tim Burton? They'll take a classic and twist it until it is unrecognizable. Go back to France! We don't need Barnabas Collins played as a vaguely gay drunken pirate!

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Benny and Joon, Edward Scissorhands, Donny Brasco, Public Enemies, and an FBI agent who had his eyes gouged out in Once Upon a Time in Mexico. Clearly you have no clue as to just how talented Johnny Depp really is beyond playing a "vaguely gay drunken pirate". Try actually watching a couple of them, you might even grow a brain.

Praise the gods! I heard about this a while back, and I've been waiting (patiently? well, trying) for some kind of announcement. Burton + Depp + Dark Shadows = best news ever!

It's a given, of course, that Helena Bonham Carter will play Angelique.

keira would be a perfect vampire!! tim you have to loook for her!... she rocks!

lookn - fully agree with you on that. Depp is supremely talented and very few are in his league. Nuff said.

And Barnabas Collins, only one of the coolest vampires ever, up on the big stream. Suh-weet. Twilight my rear end.

Hugh Jackman as Quentin Collins.

John C. Reilly as Count Petofi

Is Burton only doing remakes now--with Depp and Carter in tow? There was a movie. There was a remake series. GEEZ!

...well, I suppose Burton couldn't screw this one up too bad... I was disappointed with "Apes" and the only really good part of "Wonka" was the squirrel scene. But that's just me... squirrels in general crack me up.

Please tell me that the Burton version will not remake the ORIGIN OF BARNABUS COLLINS yet again?

I love the series. I watched from the time it started in 1966 to the end whenever I could... summers and holidays, mostly, and when it came out in ruruns I watched it as often as jobs permitted. When VCR's came out, I bought 140 of the tapes.

But, PLEASE!!!! For the love of God, don't rewrite the orignin of Barnabus Collins again. Give us a NEW STORY!!! PLEASE!!!

It's about DAMN time! I thought this movie was shelved a year ago. BRING IT ON!

I'm up to episode 625 of the series, atm (each episode is 20 minutes long). I used to run home from school to watch this when it was on in the late 60s.

I look forward to this...warily. I love the old series..the campiness, overacting, bad teeth, and flubbed lines. I'm realllllly hoping they keep the timelines in mind and don't 'modernize' the whole thing. Its charm is its 'gothicness'...

Depp was born to play Barnabas Collins!

Tim Burton was born to Direct "Dark Shadows" The Movie!

This will definitely be an awesome movie!

I have no problem with a "vaguely gay drunken pirate", even a completely gay drunken pirate! Bring um on! More!, More! Dep is 1 of my favorite actors, and Dark Shadows was buckets of fun to watch even today. Waaaaaay better then some of whats out there... cough, cough.... And Helena Bonham Carter too! Awesome! She's another of my favorites! She's fantastic!!!

I'ts time for some Depp nepatism now. I hope Vanessa Paradis is in it and Not Helena Bonam Carter. Vanessa looks like a ghost, she would be good.

Can't wait to see this reincarnation of the show!
I remember watching this show on ABC as a kid in high school. Later I wound up working on the show before it went off the air.
It was the first show I received a network credit!

Nick B

Having seen reruns of the original and both its spin off movies plus the entire run of the remake I can say I am hopeful that Depp and Burton can really do this project justice. I have to say no way to Bonham Carter as Angelique though. She'd make a much better Dr. Hoffman

I used to watch the show when I was 4-years-old, and now it's being made into a movie. I'm starting to feel old.

Definitely no on HBC as Angelique! She's attractive, but not Angelique material :P

Maybe Scarlett J....

If I recall correctly, Angelique is from Martinique. So how about a woman of color in the role? How about Meagan Good? Or, if you want a bit older, how about Sanaa Lathan? Or older still, how about the gorgeous Angela Bassett?

Ugh. More brooding vampires and faux-romanticism for all the teeny boppers out there.

Sweet....after watching and re watching the original plus every "original based" DS movie I could sink my fangs into....I am really ready for this!....BRING IT ON!

Of course!! Big suprise, they waited for Dan Curtis, the original producer to die (2006). This follows the same paterrn as the grinch, bewitched, get smart etc.
Total ripoff.

About the "vaguely gay" remark - wasn't Barnabas more than vaguely flaming? And aren't vampires often androgenous?

What some of you don't realize is before Dan Curtis passed away he had said that he would give anything to see Johnny Depp play Baranbas Collins in a new Dark Shadows film. This was all Dan Crutis' own idea before he died. That's what set this ball into motion.

I, for one, am looking forward to this. Johnny Depp is perfect for Barnabas and no one else but Tim Burton could get the mood quite right for Dark Shadows considering his Gothic sensibilities.

It's time these teeny boppers were shown a true vampire icon!

Finally! Can we just stick a stake in Team Edward and dust him and give those little emo bloodsuckers something to actually ponder.

HELL ya! Watch out Edward Cullen Johnny Depps coming to kick your little vampire ass!

I look forward to this a great deal- as i'm a huge fan of the original. I had some problems with Depp as Barnabas when i first heard about it- but i hear he is actually a fan of the original show as well, so i'm sure he will try to do it justice.

As for someone suggesting Angelique could be a woman of color, as much as Angela Basset is a fantastic actress- she is just a tad too old imo. But still she rocks, i do agree that. I'm thinking if they went that route, Thandie Newton perhaps? She is exotic enough to pull off the Martinique thing.

And for Dr. Hoffman (my absolute fave character) i could SO see Tilda Swinton or Cate Blanchett in that role.
It's a given that HBC will be in there somewhere. But not as Angelique i hope. Too old for Caroline or Vicky i think and too young for Elizabeth. So, hmm.... it'll be interesting to see. Laura Collins, the Phoenix would be a nice twist for her. But then- who knows which storyline they will even go with at this point. So Laura might not even be in the picture-- but given the fact that she is David's mother it's not totaly out of the question.

Lucy Lawless as Angelique! I'd love to see her work opposite Johnny Depp, she is also a very versatile actor. I would love to see a woman of color play her too. (Of course some people may complain, but they'll get over it).

islesfan
I take it you're one of those people who have never seen a movie that Johnny Depp has been in except for Pirates of Caribbean?

I just wanted to clarify one thing about my post so there is no misunderstanding.

When i say i think Angella Bassett is a "tad too old"- i do not mean "too old in general". She has always been a favorite actress of mine and i am no agist.
When i say too old- i mean for the part of Angelique. Anyone who knows the original or even its 1991 revival series knows Angelique is a sort of hand maiden to Josette- and her character is much younger that the lovely Miss Bassett.

Ok- that being said, i just didn't want anyone to misunderstand and jump on me LOL.

Cheers.

I have seen some good "Depp" movies but I also saw what happened when Burton remade the story of Willy Wonka and totally butchered it (IMHO it classifies as the worst Depp movie). So if this is the best that Burton can do is just another stupid remake then he should quit. What we need are original ideas not remakes.

I have seen some good "Depp" movies but I also saw what happened when Burton remade the story of Willy Wonka and totally butchered it (IMHO it classifies as the worst Depp movie). So if this is the best that Burton can do is just another stupid remake then he should quit. What we need are original ideas not remakes.

THIS IS SOMETHING IVE BEEN WAITING FOR QUITE A LONG TIME . LETS DFO THIS RIGHT, THIS TIME, TIMES HAVE CHANGED THERE IS SO MUCH IN DARK SHADOWS , LETS NOT DO ANOTHER HOUSE OF DARK SHADOWS REMAKE. BRING DARK SHADOWS UP TO DATE ... CANT WAIT

I can't wait! I love, Dark Shadows and I love Johnny Depp. I'm going to keep my eyes and ears open for this movie to hit theatres!

OMG!!!!!! I had to watch this after school from the age of like 9. Can't wait for this to come out.

I can't wait!!!

Cant wait to see this. Johnny D is the perfect person to play the big fang face. I used to skip high school to see the 1960/70's daytime Dark Shadows series (at least every Friday). Bring it on!

This is very exciting. My vote for Angelique: the actress who played Martha Jones on Doctor Who. Spot-on. Second choice is Thandie Newton. HBC as Julia Hoffman really would (will) be great.

I love Dark Shadows, I watched it every day after school. I will be waiting and watching for it on the big screen.

JOHNNY DEPP AS BARNABAS COLLINS
Depp has the dark side already covered. The dark eyes, the brooding personality.
His challenge will be the human side of Barnabas. He has to find a way to make the audience believe that he is a kind-hearted soul; this, after his obsessive, possessive lusting towards Josette's incaranation (Maggie Evans or Victora Winters), and his homicidal attempts to avoid exposure and feed himself.
I have complete faith that he will nail it, because he has at least one ace in the hole: He loves Dark Shadows. He badly wants to portray his version of Barnabas.
Depp is going to have to reach outside his normal range of skills, but he will thrill us all, and make us hungry for sequels.

MAGGIE EVANS
The actress who plays Maggie will have a similar challenge, but easier. Finding a pretty face to play Maggie will be simple enough. But you have to find an actress who will be vulnerable, and also be able to project strength and independence; and who has that sisterly kind of caring for her friends at Collinwood. Kate Scott was able to project that naturally, and hopefully they will find someone with similar abilities.

THE INCOMPARABLE ANGELIQUE
The biggest challenge will be the casting for Angelique. They can't just pick a stunning, bitchy, skinny, evil, jealous woman. Angelique is all of those things, except skinny. But Lara had far more depth than a pretty face. She was hypnotic and mature, not just a young kid with a silly crush. This actress will have to project a believable undying love for Barnabas, while trying to destroy everybody she blames for her unrequited love. She doesn't need to be a decent soul like Barnabas is, at his core; but her love for him has to be at the center of her motivation.
Whoever mentioned Scarlett as Anqelique – good suggestion. Scarlett’s a sweetie, but she can definitely do the jealous evil bitch thing.

This is all assuming that the story and characters will mirror the original series. However, if Depp and Burton are planning to change things around, again we can have faith that Depp will do it right, because of his passion for the series and the character.
At the end, I hope Barnabas hooks up with Angelique. Also, Barnabas should have some internet skills, so he can link to an online dating service, and find someone for Julia (“Looking for dark, brooding male in his 200’s. Must be kind and devoted to his family and friends; enjoy traveling to Europe as well as other time periods; and also be a blood sucker, literally”)

I like it. I am a fan of the orig series, even been to a con once.
I wrote Mr. Burton about another series but he has yet to answer. Guess he can't write everyone, but I'd like to know if it got there.
ANYWAY, Depp is proper for this. He often does goofy/funny people (Ed Wood, DizzyPirate,SleepyHollowScientist,Wonka, MadHatter, etc) but this will have to be "dead" serious (pun intended).
I want him to play against Dorothy Hamill, who will be seen getting undressed frequently and for no perceptible reason. Signorney Weaver, too. And Britney Spears.
ANYWAY, it will be good even without the babes because Tim Burton has an ingrained feeling for moodiness and dark stuff without the "too dark to see what's going on!" thing that some 50's/60's scary flick directors (esp Italians) did.
And if the film has "dead" zones where nothing seems to be "happening", then it will not only be enjoyable to mood-seekers, but DS fans who are used to lots and lots (and lots) of footage without any perceptible movement of plot (=nostaglia).
But who can replace Thayer David?!
Is David Ford still alive? I'm sure David Selby is since I saw him on a movie or show recently. Would have kept on surfing had I not recognized him as some science/army guy.
So did I mention Doroth...yeah, ok

---The Boomer generation continues to
bury gens X, Y and Z -under their decades
stale cultural incest.

Burton can do better than this. ---Or maybe
at this point he can't---

In the casting of Angelique, I think Charlize Theron would be a perfect choice. Just look at her in Hancock. She looks like a young Laura Parker. 'Nuff said.

@ Leviathan. Ooooo! Now that would be good casting indeed! She could pull that off easy peasy.

Observation #1: A lot of us on this site are really old farts (watching Dark Shadows after school), me included.

#2: Helena Bonham Carter would be an excellent Julia Hoffman, but not Angelique.

#3: I don't always like Tim Burton's movies. He better not screw this up - we're talking about my childhood here!

I'm sure that this new Dark Shadows will be great with two fine people who know their craft well at the helm of this project. This could bring Dark Shadows back again which is not unusual as Dark Shadows thrives on reincarnations and noone has managed to put a final stake through its heart in over 40 years. I'd like to see them somehow give at least a cameo part to the orginal Barnabas Jonathan Frid who created the role.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!