Step Into the “Dark Shadows”

As we inch closer to the May 11th release of Tim Burton’s upcoming adaptation of the television cult classic Dark Shadows, staring Johnny Depp, French website CineHeroes has treated us to a brand new image of Depp as the infamous vampire, Barnabas Collins.

The story of Barnabas Collins begins in the 18th century, when he’s turned into a vampire and subsequently trapped inside a tomb for over two hundred years.

In the year 1972, Collins reemerges and begins to seek out his descendants and foes, along with a few other surprises along the way.

Both Depp and Burton have professed their deep affection for the source material, having both been fans of the show when it originally aired.  They’re joined by an all-star cast, including Michelle Pfeiffer, Helena Bonham Carter, and former Bond girl, Eva Green (Casino Royale).

For more on what to expect from the highly anticipated film, read the official synopsis below:

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 Bouchard (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.