I saw Burton's version of Planet of the Apes on TV. I didn't dislike it; I'm really not sure how I felt about it. To me, it seemed that the main problem was that he wasn't sure in what way he wanted to go with it. Pierre Boulle's original novel (literally translated from French as "Monkey Planet") had the simians living in a pretty-much 20th century technological world, driving cars, going to work, tossing laundry into the clothes washer, etc., with humans being mute animals (save for the astronaut who crashes onto their world). The first screenplay, scripted by Rod Serling for the original film version starring Charlton Heston (don't forget to look for his cameo appearance in Burton's version), followed Boulle's concept of a modern-day simian world (a fascinating screen test with Edward G. Robinson as Dr. Zaius shows this), but for several reasons this was dropped and in its place came the more primitive ape world; most of Boulle's plot had been discarded with only certain characters remaining; yet, the story remained intriguing and logical. Burton's often appears confusing and jumbled basically because of the interactions of apes and humans. Humans are not mute animals; for the most part they are intelligent, articulate, social creatures who are, while viewed as inferior, are more like slaves to the ruling apes than just mere animals. Somehow, this whole concept just didn't really click.
I'm not sure what this has all got to do with any possible vision Burton might have for Dark Shadows, but I'm hoping that Depp will keep a close eye on what will be going on and make sure he reigns in anything he might think is going askew and doesn't let Burton's DS become Burton's POTA.
Gerard