DARK SHADOWS is next for Tim Burton

by Matt Holmes

Tim Burton is finished with Alice's quest down the rabbit hole, he will be taking his Mad HatterJohnny Depp, and his Sweeney Todd writer John August to the 60's world of spooky soap opera's, with the cult gothic horror Dark Shadows, the adaptation of the daily ABC serial that ran for five years, amassing 1,225 episodes. Depp will play Barnabas Collins, the self-loathing and tortured vamp patriarch of the series who Depp idolised, and became obsessed with as a child. Yes girls, Johnny Depp as a vampire. Doesn't that excite you? Though it's old news that all three men would be working together on this film (John August has been writing the screenplay for Depp and Burton for a good while now), it's nice to finally have more confirmation that the movie will be Burton's next after Wonderland. Or at least, "that's the plan" as the official quotes cite him from the SDCC. After the jump, more on Dark Shadows and how it fits in as a "Tim Burton" film... barnabas-collins All the staples of the Burton formula are here, as the show regularly featured werewolves, ghosts, zombies, man-made monsters and witches, and it's use of atmosphere and outlandish characters was it's hallmark. The show sounds like it very closely resembled the kind of mood of Sleepy Hollow, and no doubt Burton will find parts for Hammer horror vets Sir. Christopher Lee and Michael Gough. Oh, and his partner Helena Bonham Carter is sure to be in there too. But this will likely be a Johnny Depp vehicle, of that we have no doubt. Wiki describe Dark Shadows as thus;

Dark Shadows was distinguished by its vividly melodramatic performances, atmospheric interiors, memorable story lines and an unusually adventurous music score. Now regarded as somewhat of a camp classic, it continues to enjoy intense cult status among its followers.
Isn't it interesting that this could account for any Tim Burton movie ever made. Change Dark Shadows to Batman, Batman Returns, Beetlejuice, Sleepy Hollow, Mars Attacks and Sweeney Todd and it all works... Don't really know the show but I'm on board for Depp/Burton/August... and this is EXACTLY the kind of material that I wanna see those three work from. Sure it's like re-ordering the same meal from a restaurant but I'm the guy who never asked for his money back after Sweeney Todd, Sleepy Hollow and Ed Wood... and actually, I was the one who came back for second and third helpings!!

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Matt Holmes is the co-founder of What Culture, formerly known as Obsessed With Film. He has been blogging about pop culture and entertainment since 2006 and has written over 10,000 articles.