For a long time now, Tim Burton and Johnny Depp have been working together on a feature version of the 1960s supernatural soap opera Dark Shadows, although while both have said yes they’re interested, the official line from them is just that it’s one of a number of possibilities, and no start date for the movie has been set.
Well, that appears to be changing, as Deadline reports that Seth Grahame-Smith has been hired by Warner to write the script for the movie. Although John August wrote a previous draft, this will be an all-new take. Grahame-Smith would seem to be a good choice, as although he’s a relative newbie to screenwriting, his novels Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, both share Dark Shadows interest in turning the past a bit more supernatural. Indeed Burton must be impressed with him, as he and Timur Bekmambetov picked up Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter for a film adaptation a few months ago.
Deadline also says the movie is heading for a January shoot, suggesting that while Depp and Burton are both to officially sign on and 100% commit, things are now at a stage where they’re pretty much saying they’ll defnitely do it and making sure they’re got time in their diaries.
The original Dark Shadows series followed the Collins family and saw them tromented by all sorts of supernatural goings on, from vampires and werewolves to ghosts and witches. It ran for an impressive 1245 episodes between 1965 and 1971. Depp is down for the lead role of vampire Barnabas Collins.