I am most definitely happy about the photo and was thrilled to see they made an attempt to replicate the famous '67 cast photo! I also enjoyed the character descriptions.
I LOVE that they kept Barnabas' trademark pointy bangs! I'm relieved they didn't try to shy away from Frid's classic look. I don't like the long fingernails in the zoom shot though. That's a bit too "Ze do Caixao" or "Count Orlok" for Barnabas. Depp does look very young in the pic, but you can see from the makeup they're trying to give him Jonathan Frid's more angular appearance. I'd be curious to see him in other poses as well to really get a look at him in Barn mode.
Julia's hair is very vibrant, but she definitely has the attitude down. I do feel she looks a little too much like an exaggerated Julia parody, but I don't hate the look. I mean, I knew RIGHT away who she was when I saw the pic. There's no mistaking her for another character!
Roger - Wow!!! Brilliant!!! Roger Collins is re-born! I hope he's as good in the film as he appears to be in this photo!
Willie - They clearly combined the characters of Willie and Matthew Morgan. We'll see about him.
Carolyn - She looks too young, but I have a theory about that. I'm sure someone else has mentioned the possibility, but I wonder if they made her younger so that she could replace Amy Jennings. This way, they can lead into the 'Turn of the Screw'/Quentin story with David and Carolyn, perhaps as a cliffhanger at the end of the movie. I mean, it's a DS movie. It should end on a cliffhanger, and Quentin should appear somehow. Just a thought.
Liz - She looks appropriately regal and has the look of a woman who harbors a dark secret of her own. I wonder if they'll mention the whole business with Paul Stoddard. It'll take me awhile to get used to the change in hair color. Liz should have dark hair.
Mrs. Johnson - Interesting take. Not big on her character description - "polishing silverware with bologna" - but we'll see. The writer says he doesn't think she has any lines in the film.
David - He looks good! I can see him removing a bleeder valve from a car.
Victoria - I think she looks too young as well, and again, the hair color is throwing me a bit. Victoria and Liz should have dark hair IMO. Also, I see they went the '91 series route by making Vicki the Josette look-a-like. I guess it's less complicated than bringing in Maggie Evans, but it makes me a little sad to see Maggie isn't the Josette doppelganger.
Angelique - She has the powerful 70s witch look going on! I can dig it. Love the blonde hair. According to the descriptions, it seems she's the one who locks Barnabas away in his tomb.
I really like the look of Collinwood from what I've seen. The drawing room looks marvelously creepy!
Random thought - I wish they'd get Barbara Steele to make a cameo in the film.
It's really extraordinary that they BEGAN the shoot by re-creating or re-staging that iconic 1967 cast photo. Almost seems like an act of Invocation. A seance, perhaps?
Indeed! I thought the same thing. There's a ritualistic quality to it.