A Tim Burton movie staring Johnny Depp?! Whatever will they think of next!

DARK SHADOWS is the movie adaptation based upon the ‘gothic’ soap opera of the same name. It was originally broadcast by ABC in the States, and ran from 1966-1971, before being remade by MGM Television in 1991. After months of pre-production, Tim Burton has now begun shooting his 15th film (and 8th collaboration with Mr. Depp) at Pinewood studious here in the UK.

To aid the many who are unfamiliar with the source material, Warner Bros. have issued the following plot synopsis to clue us in:

“In the year 1752, Joshua and Naomi Collins, with young son Barnabas, set sail from Liverpool, England to start a new life in America. But even an ocean was not enough to escape the mysterious curse that has plagued their family. Two decades pass and Barnabas (Johnny Depp) has the world at his feet—or at least the town of Collinsport, Maine. The master of Collinwood Manor, Barnabas is rich, powerful and an inveterate playboy…until he makes the grave mistake of breaking the heart of Angelique Brouchard (Eva Green). A witch, in every sense of the word, Angelique dooms him to a fate worse than death: turning him into a vampire, and then burying him alive.

Two centuries later, Barnabas is inadvertently freed from his tomb and emerges into the very changed world of 1972. He returns to Collinwood Manor to find that his once-grand estate has fallen into ruin. The dysfunctional remnants of the Collins family have fared little better, each harboring their own dark secrets. Matriarch Elizabeth Collins Stoddard (Michelle Pfeiffer) has called upon live-in psychiatrist, Dr. Julia Hoffman (Helena Bonham Carter), to help with her family troubles.

Also residing in the manor is Elizabeth’s ne’er-do-well brother, Roger Collins (Jonny Lee Miller); her rebellious teenage daughter Carolyn Stoddard (Chloe Moretz); and Roger’s precocious 10-year-old son, David Collins (Gulliver McGrath). The mystery extends beyond the family, to caretaker Willie Loomis, played by Jackie Earle Haley, and David’s new nanny, Victoria Winters, played by Bella Heathcote.”

I’ll have to call upon Starburst readers to inform me how close that plot description sticks to the original TV incarnation, but it certainly sounds like Burton’s playing to his strengths with this one.

DARK SHADOWS will be released in May 2012.

Are you a DARK SHADOWS fan? Is Burton staying true to the ‘spirit’ of the show? Let us know with your comments below!