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

I'm not as big a fan of Burton as I am of Johnny Depp (I love Tim but don't have all the facts and figures in my head)  I know that Sleepy Hollow and Sweeney Todd were R; I'm not sure about anything else.  Strike that- I just checked Ed Wood and was surprised to see that that, too, was rated R.  I guess Lugosi sweared a lot!  Big Fish, the Batmans, Planet of the Apes, Mars Attacks were all PG-13, and I'm pretty sure the other Depp/Burton films were, as well.

Gah, you bring up an interesting point about WB being nervous, but I sure hope that's not true!   I didn't see the X-Files film, but the reviews were pretty terrible, so maybe it's not that there wasn't fan interest in a film made from a TV series- maybe it was just that the film sucked! 

Cathy

Yes, the X-Files movie got scathing reviews. And as for the Friends movie rumor, Entertainment Weekly debunked that as a complete fabrication soon after it made the rounds.

And I continue to think that there's no news on the Depp/DS movie front because Burton already has so much on his plate. IF he is going to direct, it *could* easily be more than a year from now before production might begin. And if that is the case, they're not about to begin casting or anything like that with production more than a year in the offing. Also, we don't even know the state of the script...

Thanks for clearing that up, MB.

Yes, I forgot about about Sleepy Hollow; that raises the total to three. And not all the Burton/Depp productions were rated PG-13 or R - Corpse Bride and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory were both PG. However, I highly doubt that a new DS movie could be made as PG.

I have not seen Sweeney Todd but Sleepy Hollow was a pretty mild R if you ask me. I think he should go for an R if it ever comes about. Corpse Bride is one of my favorite movies.

I refuse to give into another DS curse like I personally believe has been inflicted upon us twice since the OS.  I am thinking positive positive thoughts towards this project.  I wanna see Johnny in that onyx ring, cane and coat before it is over with, preferably in a 3 part Trilogy!!   Plus no offense to the stars of the X Files but are they as known as Johnny Depp?  I know that X Files was a huge TV hit but nothing compared to the Pirate movies which shot his star power into the stratosphere!  And made ASTOUNDING amounts of box office revenue!!  I am glad to say I loved him long before the Pirate stuff.  IN fact it's my least favorite of his work!  It's fun for a watch on a weekend now and again to me.  

His childhood fantasy alone makes me think he is the perfect fit to play this part--To Play Barnabas Collins!!

Well, I've been mulling this one over long before it was a topic and I will accept no substitutions...it's got to be Johnny!  And he'd better get at it because time is ticking away - IMO he's the perfect age now.

the kid who played damien in the remake would make a good creepy david.

Speaking of Omen (my # 1 all time favorite horror movie), I thought the remake wasn't very good with the exception of the kid who played Damien.  He really was very good.  Schrieber and Dunst were so unsuited to play Damien's parents.  I was hugely disappointed since Schrieber is a decent actor and I was hoping for a lot more. 

afthe the movie he played a killer kid on the soap guilding light for a few months and did a good job.

An article on Depp's projects and it includes a brief DS movie reference

Captian Jack-pot!
After 3 Pirates, Johnny Depp looking at $56M!!! for fourth

I guess we are doomed to have Helena in the DS movie.  MEH!

If Tim Burton directs, it seems almost a certainty that Helena Bonham Carter will appear in some role.

The casting news that I think is potentially interesting is Anne Hathaway. Other reports have mentioned that Depp was supposedly so taken with the premiere of Little Britian on BBC America that he's asking the actor who plays Tweedledum and Tweedledee, who's also on LB, for a part in the LB movie - wouldn't it be interesting if Depp is in a similar mind as several DS fans in thinking of Hathaway as Vicki - and wouldn't it be interesting if he approached her with the idea?

Burton does have a history of taking brunette actresses and making them blonde (Winona Ryder in Edward Scissorhands, Christina Ricci in Sleepy Hollow).  So, Helena as as Angelique seems almost a foregone conclusion.  TBH, I rather like her and she certainly has a great chemistry with Depp.

Interestingly, I was following some Sondheim boards around the time of casting for Sweeney Todd, and a lot of folks wanted to see Anne Hathaway as Johanna (she is apparently a very good singer, and I think she has performed some pieces from Sweeney Todd).  Interestingly too, she would have had to have become blonde for the role    I don't know if she was even on Tim's radar at the time, but now that she is, who knows?  I could see her as Vicki.

As for Helena, the lucky thing about Tim always casting her lately is that he doesn't necessarily always cast her in a lead role.  So really, if she's in Dark Shadows, she could be cast as anyone (Mrs. Johnson??  LOL)  But Julia Hoffman seems to me like it might be a good fit for her.  I don't particularly envision her as Angelique (i am still liking the idea of Charlize Theron), but I'm happy to keep an open mind for now.

The good thing is that DS is continuing to be mentioned in these articles!

Cathy

Hmm, Julia might be a good fit for HBC, but that might be a little too much like the relationship she had as Mrs. Lovett with Depp's Todd.