It's official: Dark Shadows returns as a film with Johnny Depp

[Cousin_Barnabas]

Remember that one article that stated Elizabeth has been locked up inside Collinwood for a decade, as opposed to eighteen years?  That article may be onto something if Carolyn is, indeed, 4 (or so) years younger than the series. Idle speculation, but still, fun to think about the possibilities.   

[KMR]

Remember that one article that stated Elizabeth has been locked up inside Collinwood for a decade, as opposed to eighteen years?

"Locked up"?    That sounds ominous.  I had always thought her confinement at Collinwood was self-imposed...  

[borgosi]

I really don't mind changes to the story. It would be nice for it to feel 'new" and it if could have susprises for us "old timers" but they should also understand that this movie shouldn't be "Dark Shadows" in name only. You change any story too much and you have an original story. It's starting to sound like the only things this will have in common with Dark Shadows are names.

[jimbo]

Not really an update at this point but another video from the folkes at Clevver
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_Ya8M-sEm8

I haven't heard anything about the David character-is it possible the character will be written out of the movie?

[michael c]

the tone of this thing seems to get stranger all the time.

the original series was often unintentionally "campy"...the over-the-top performances,the chromekey,those desperate searches for the teleprompter...but it was dead serious in it's intent.

so i'm not really sure where the "comedy" in this tale is supposed to come from in terms of the film. is it a spoof? a sendup? is it supposed to be "hilarious" when barnabas first sees an airplane or hears the phone ring? since it's to be set during the 1970's is the humor going to come from leisure suits and platform shoes?

i'm just not sure what's "funny" about this story.

[Miss_Winthrop]

I think 'funny' can be interpreted two different ways: (1) the character's actions are horrifically funny or (2) the character's words are funny in response to the action.  I too didn't care for Willie coming off as a buffoonish character.  Let's face it, he was a 'bad' young man who was punished in the worse possible way. His punishment brought on a major change of character.  I think his displays of humor were cynical at best.

[David]

This seems like a good time to point out that when Tim Burton did Batman, it was dark, scary & absolutely true to the spirit of the 1940s Batman--yet the film had humor.
Sleepy Hollow, Sweeney Todd & Edward Scissorhands also had humor, but were very good films that could be taken seriously.

Both Burton & Depp have stated their love for the original DS. Depp has said he wants to model his Barnabas on Jonathan Frid's "iconic" performance.

I think we can trust Burton & Depp to do it right.

[Cousin_Barnabas]

Not really an update at this point but another video from the folkes at Clevver
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_Ya8M-sEm8

I would just like to say that their interpretation of the story scares me.  The thought had crossed my mind that this was one possible way to take the story, and I shuddered.  But then I realized vampires don't age, so he could never possibly play a young vampire Barnabas.  And I'd really rather not have Josette be a childhood love interest.  The original story and subsequent retellings of the heiress arriving from Martinique work fine with me.  

I really have started to question who curses Barnabas in this story...

[Taeylor Collins]

I don't think this particular article has been post. IF it has feel free to take it down. I like that they included the opening them in the article!

http://blog.moviefone.com/2011/03/29/dark-shadows-young-johnny-depp/

Thanks MB. I had been debating whether you were talking about Jim Fyfe or Millicent. I wasn't sure. I meant to point out Millicent as well.  And yes Fyfe could be over the top at times but I still enjoyed him.  

I am sure maybe some of you think I don't have a bad word to say about the new movie.  I guess I am just a true optimist at heart and hope for the best.

As for the story changes; I personally welcome them. I don't want a retread of HODS nor of the wonderful Revival that I fell in love with.  However, I think Julia being an alcoholic is interesting when you look at this in the long term.  If it does become a franchise then there will be a lot to draw upon if they choose to flesh her out in other movies.  As for all the other changes I am okay with them as well.  And just because Angelique is already in town doesn't mean she wasn't the one to curse Barnabas.  Now we know we are getting a flashback to childhood, so who is to say we won't get a flashback to when she cursed him. In the original she certainly followed Barnabas around the centuries, why not?  As for Eva's comment on her being "big in town" I think that can be interpreted many ways.  It could mean that she is very POWERFUL supernaturally in town. There is so much unknown to us and I think that is the way JD and TB want it. They want a lot of speculation on what it's going to be about.

That being said I think that they will honor what Dark Shadows was and what it can become.  I always remember that they are both fans of the show as well.  And I certainly think that they have the original fans in mind while doing this movie.  

I am very excited about the movie.   Being a fan of the Revival I could easily say I don't like Eva Green she isn't enough like Lysette.   Even I wasn't that thrilled about HBC playing Julia but I am glad they at least gave the role to a capable actress.  And it may be a little hard for me at first because I loved JOANNA GOING and BARABARA STEELE very very very much.  However, I plan to keep an open mind!

I continue to look forward to DS and am excited about the news we get ever day!

[Doug]

Micheal Sheen in talks to play Roger? I hope he will get the part. I like Sheen when he was in the "Underworld" movies.

[borgosi]

Yes, Johnny Depp and Tim Burton are fans. Mel Brooks is a fan of the Universal Classic horror films and that's why he made the great, classic Young Frankenstein. Roland Emmerich is a fan of the classic Godzilla movies and that why he made his Godzilla that starred Mathew Broderick. They were both fans of the originals and they were both big budget movie with big names. I love Young Frankenstein but I don't want a DS comedy at this point and while "Godzilla" isn't that bad a movie it isn't a GODZILLA movie.

My point is that just because someone is a fan doesn't make them any better when it come to making a new movie based on a classic. Truth is I would bet that most remakes are made by fans of the original and most remakes suck.

Them being fans don't mean this will be any better or any worse than anyother remake.

[Nightfall59]

But then I realized vampires don't age, so he could never possibly play a young vampire Barnabas.  And I'd really rather not have Josette be a childhood love interest.  The original story and subsequent retellings of the heiress arriving from Martinique work fine with me.  

But we have no concrete evidence that Thomas McDonell will play Barnabas at the time he is cursed? It's all speculation at this point? So far we've heard nothing about the casting of a young Angelique. So unless they have 31-year-old Eva Green's Angelique as an "older" woman temptress who leads Barnabas astray...now that would be a completely new spin. 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

But we have no concrete evidence that Thomas McDonell will play Barnabas at the time he is cursed? It's all speculation at this point?

Exactly. And ClevverTV even says, "We wonder if..." - they're not reporting it as fact but as their own speculation. And it might not even be their own speculation because, as I mentioned a month or so ago, ClevverTV's reports often seem to regurgitate what's reported on various Internet entertainment sites, and I definitely saw at least one other site speculating that young Barnabas will be a vampire. But as Cousin_Barnabas pointed out, vampires don't age. (Well, unless they're Dracula in Francis Ford Coppola's version of the story - but it seems highly unlikely that the Depp/DS film will be going that route because that would entail Thomas McDonell playing Barnabas more than Depp would, as Depp would simply be Barn before his first drink of blood. Ain't gonna happen.  )

It's worth pointing out again that when it comes to a lot of these entertainment sites we really need to take what they report with a grain of salt (if not a mountain) because they'll often add in their own speculations but present them as looking like facts. And quite sadly, there are times when they don't bother to check supposed facts or they even outright misinterpret facts. (And for the latter two one need look no further than the recent debacle over the upcoming Streisand remake of Gypsy when numerous sites reported it was dead but it's still very much alive. Sound familiar?    )

[Aristia]

I haven't heard anything about the David character-is it possible the character will be written out of the movie?

If Carolyn is indeed being played by a younger actress, I've been wondering if they are perhaps combining the characters of Carolyn and David.  Not sure I personally feel this is the best idea, but it would be interesting to see how they'd pull it off!

[usffan]

Now we know we are getting a flashback to childhood, so who is to say we won't get a flashback to when she cursed him. In the original she certainly followed Barnabas around the centuries, why not?

You know, I had a thought.  The discussions that Chloe Moretz is going to play Carolyn (first mentioned by Gothick) come from an anonymous second-hand source.  Given that it appears we're going to see Barnabas in a flashback, what if Chloe is actually being considered for the role of a young Angelique?  Suppose she meets Barnabas and develops a fanatical teenage crush on him?  Her obsession with him leads her to explore her powers (leading to her becoming a witch) with the intention of making him fall in love with her.  There's nothing written in stone that she has to come from Martinique and be Josette's handmaid.  Maybe her family came from Salem.  Heck, maybe she's simply the great granddaughter of Judah Zachary and takes to witchcraft like a prodigy! 

Food for thought...