The much-anticipated film adaptation of the campy 1960s horror series Dark Shadows is set to be released just about a year from now. May 11, 2012, to be precise. This is the latest Tim Burton–Johnny Depp collaboration which is why we consider it “much-anticipated,” but also because of this cast: Helena Bonham Carter (natch), Chloe Moretz, Eva Green, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Jackie Earle Haley. It’s also been years since this project was first announced, so it’s good to finally know that we’re going to get to see this soon.
Dark Shadows is known for its melodrama, ambitious score, and special effects that were quote a big deal at the time. It was conceived when its creator, Dan Curtis, had a dream about a woman on a train, then somehow sold that idea to ABC. That woman was changed to an orphaned girl who boards a train to Maine to delve into her own past and ends up in the incredibly weird Collins household. If that’s what Burton is going with, then she will probably be played by Moretz. It’s also a good bet that Bonham Carter will be playing that girl’s employer, Elizabeth Collins Stoddard, who has not left her home in 18 years, though that could also be Pfeiffer. Green is a good possibility for Stoddard’s rebellious daughter, and Haley as her brother. Depp will be playing the lead vampire (who actually didn’t show up until the second season of the series) Barnabas Collins.
Of course, there are no plot details, and as a show that aired on a daily basis, Dark Shadows has tons of characters and storylines to choose from.
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