It's official: Dark Shadows returns as a film with Johnny Depp

It's going to be hard keeping it from being comedy.

Which is probably why it's never been depicted in any of the series or hoDS. Though the comics based on the '91 series do touch on things briefly and they play it straight - well, apart for Barnabas and Willie watching Dracula. However, apart from the fact that they're watching Dracula, the scene is serious and not played for laughs. The scene is mostly used to illustrate that people believe vampires are make-believe but Willie and Barnabas obviously know they're not.

I would respond however I don't know "think" this is the place to talk about story ideas for the movie.

Brief story ideas are fine in this topic. But for something longer all you have to do is post in one of the topics that discuss ideas for the movie at length and reference the post in this topic that got you thinking. 

I don't think its a matter of choosing whether to play it dramatically or for comedy.  Ideally, it would be both, but in such a way as to fit overall into a serious tale.  I'm reminded of Sleepy Hollow where Constable Crane's reaction to so much going around him was quite amusing, but it was all part of a story that took itself (quite properly) very seriously.

For example, in Robservations the point was made about whether Barnabas had ever seen car headlights before.  Probably not.  And while some details of that disorientation might amuse, the sum total might make us feel very sorry for Barnabas.  I rather hope we see the moment when he sees a date on a newspaper or calendar and realizes over two centuries have passed!  His reaction would be something to see, methinks.

And really, why shouldn't we be allowed to discuss elements of the script?  I don't get it.  Full-blown suggestions for storylines, etc. I understand.  But why not discuss basic elements like "Should Vicky Winters really be Josette reincarnated?"

Myself, I find myself wondering what "take" on vampirism they'll go with.  The original series essentially went with fangs and pale skintones.  The remake added those weird eyes a la Forever Knight (to which, btw, I did not object).  With advanced makeup these days vampires are often portrayed with lots of subtle clues that read "not human."  On BTVS of course they went with an actual demonic look, but that was evidently to forestall any inference that Buffy was murdering human beings, even on a visceral level.  In Interview With the Vampire, on the other hand, vampires had an interestingly obvious trace of their veins along the sides of their face.  I wouldn't mind that myself.  I wouldn't mind if Barnabas as a vampire looked quite nonhuman, but maybe also strangely beautiful.

Just a thought.

And really, why shouldn't we be allowed to discuss elements of the script?  I don't get it.  Full-blown suggestions for storylines, etc. I understand.  But why not discuss basic elements like "Should Vicky Winters really be Josette reincarnated?"

Things like that have been mentioned in this topic.    It's just that other topics have been created to discuss storyline suggestions, and the staff would prefer that those sorts of topics be discussed there and that this topic focus mostly on the progress and development of the Depp/DS and the factors surrounding it. That way similar discussions aren't being held in multiple topics. Reminders to try to stay on topic or to take certain discussions to other topics that have been created for them or to create topics for them aren't meant to prevent discussion - only to channel discussion in the proper areas on the forum/board.    After all, that is the job of a moderator. 

The discussion about script suggestions continues in the topic "DS Redux: Your Vision," which was started by Zahir and is presently stickied to the top of this board.

Thanks MB and Midnite for clearing all this up.  I wrote what I wrote because I wanted to see what you all had to say about how far we could go on this particular thread when discussing plots, etc.  It is much appreciated.   

Just in case anyone has been wondering, WB has confirmed that rumors of Depp appearing as the Riddler in the next Batman movie are false. Check out: Warner confirms that rumours of Cher as Catwoman and Johnny Depp as Riddler are false. In fact, at the moment there aren't even concrete plans to do another movie in the franchise (though everyone concerned would be insane not to  ).

What's funny, though hardly surprising, is that new reports of the rumors continue to be posted on the Internet. But as I lamented in an earlier post, why should some sites let a little thing like the truth stop them from posting anything? 

Hi, I haven't been on this forum for a couple of months. Is the latest about the Depp DS movie that Tim Burton will direct? Any other fresh tidbits?
Thanks.

And on that subject, is Tim Burton directing even a truly confirmed fact? Do we have proof that WB confirmed it? Because I haven't been able to find any explicit proof yet.

There hasn't been any official confirmation from any reputable source that Burton will definitely direct. The closest thing to confirmation was back on June 16th when SG Update #184 said:

"Longtime Depp friend and collaborator Tim Burton, who directed Depp's recent film SWEENEY TODD, has expressed interest in helming the feature and is expected to officially join the project. Several recent online news items have mentioned Burton's involvement. However, the studio has not yet issued a formal confirmation, though will likely do so when the motion picture is closer to production."

But quite obviously a formal confirmation has yet to come from WB. But then, so far as any of us are aware, the film isn't close to production - and may not be so for some time to come...

Thanks for that, MB. I was pretty sure that there hadn't been a 100% confirmation yet. Of course, it is looking incredibly likely from all the rumors that have been flying around, as well as Depp and Burton collaborating so frequently.

I don't know if there is already a thread about which celebrities we would like to see in the movie. I tried looking for it and I could'nt find it. Anyway, I think Candice Night of the European folk rock group "Blackmores Night" would be great choice to play Angelique.

She kind of reminds me of young Lara Parker of the late 1960's.

Doug, check out:

Movie Cast Ideas

It certainly seems as if this blogger is coming to the party a bit late. But we'll take any and all fans - especially those who may be publicizing the Depp/DS film to people who, like himself, may have seemingly been unaware that it's been in the works for well over a year:

Johnny Depp In A Dark Shadows Movie?!?!?!?

Actor Caine confirms the rumor about Depp being in the next Batman movie but mentions the source as a WB executive?

‘DARK KNIGHT’ EXCLUSIVE: Michael Caine Says Johnny Depp Is The Riddler, Philip Seymour Hoffman Is The Penguin