Again, it can all be traced back to DC, who in the '91 series wanted the dark/dangerous side of Barnabas emphasized over his sympathetic side. Thankfully it wasn't as blatant a dark/dangerous Barnabas as was in hoDS, which we have to recall was DC's template for Barnabas (the man is said to have screened hoDS numerous times in his office
), but certainly a bit more dark than he was in the original series. DC firmly believed that the '91 series was, in DC's own words, his "opportunity to get it right." I definitely think the sympathetic side is there - but any discussion of that here is definitely getting OT.
However, to get things back on topic, it will be very interesting to see how Barnabas' dark and sympathetic sides are balanced in the Depp/DS film. I could be wrong, but if the story ends up being a release from the coffin into a new century, as opposed to a story taking place in the past to depict the curse, I suspect the dark side of Barnabas will probably outweigh the sympathetic side - though certainly not to the degree of hoDS. Obviously they'll want Depp's Barn to be dark/dangerous, but they'll also want him to be appealing so that audiences will be brought into his story enough to want to know more about him and willing to invest in a franchise.