I see that several reports are cropping up online with the casting news, which is no surprise. Though what is a bit surprising is none are citing Variety and all seem to be citing deadline.com, which means all are describing the female lead as a governess rather than what Variety is reporting:
"Heathcote would play a local waitress, whom Collins takes a shine to because of her resemblance to his long-lost love. "
Someone is obviously wrong...
Also, I forgot to mention earlier that it's interesting to see Variety considering that DS has the potential to solve a problem for Warner Bros.: the need for a franchise to replace the waning Harry Potter series. But even though, as Variety also reports, neither Burton or Depp has talked of franchising DS, someone connected with the film most definitely did discuss franchising. Was it Richard Zanuck? I forget already...