Variety doesn't really contradict McDonell because all they say is that Depp won't begin shooting until after promoting Pirates. And as I said the other day, just because Depp wouldn't start shooting until after May 20th, that didn't mean the film couldn't begin production before then without him.
In fact, if it really has begun production (and it isn't that McDonell is simply mistaken) that could explain why IMDb still says production begins in April and not May. But who knows? So much of what's happening has such a tight lid on it.
And as for McDonell, I don't think he's necessarily describing something that happens to him while he's playing Barnabas. It seems like he's saying he plays Barn prebatbite but afterward Barn (presumably then played by Depp) gets bitten, becomes a vampire, and gets locked away. Considering that vamps don't age, I can't imagine how McDonell could go into the coffin as a vampire and then have a 20-something years older Depp come out. But we shall see...
One thing I do think comes across is that McDonell, like a lot of people his age, plays fast and loose with time. In a previous interview he said he's going to shoot for a week or so - in this one it's a couple of days. And in that same previous interview he says it'll be a little while before he's going to shoot (though it will be at the end of the shoot) - yet in this one he's not shooting until the end of summer. And actually that makes much more sense because the casting call that I linked to a while back said shooting would last through August.
But anyway, as always, thanks for posting the links, jimbo.