Johnny Depp as BARNABAS COLLINS?!?!

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117969246.html?categoryid=1236&cs=1

I’d heard a DS film was in development, but I didn’t expect this bit of casting.
Hmmmm!

Of course, I was part of that generation which would hurry home from school everyday to catch the original DS, and then eagerly tuned it when it was
released into syndication in the 1980s, only to exclaim “THIS IS WHAT I LOVED AS A KID?!?!”

I did enjoy the NBC miniseries about 15 years ago, and I have high hopes for this.

Jonny Depp seems to like playing characters with odd personality quirks. It’ll be intertesting to see what he does with Barnabas.

I had such a vague memory of the original show that I eagerly awaited the rerun on the Sci-Fi Channel. I’m really glad I watched it. And I still believe it to be one of the greatest TV shows ever made.

I was that kid! And I had the same reaction to it when they released it in the '80s. It SUCKED. HARD.

And I don’t want Johnny Depp to play Barnabas, either. That’s just wrong.

I’m a Depp fan, but not a US TV fan, so would anyone mind explaining who Barnabas Collins is and why Depp isn’t right?

is this a movie or Television mini-series or what? Dark Shadows was only “interesting” for about 15 episodes (the vampire ones)… the rest was washed out 1900-s melodrama poorly translated into a early 70’s soap opera…

regards
FML

I was a HUGE Depp fan until all that closeted fey pirate crap. I’m so over him. He’s just about achieved the Pacino level of overacting. Anyone remember Ed Wood? That was good Depp.

Well, I for one think this could just be loads of fun. Depp is so talented and so fun to watch (I’m looking forward to Sweeney Todd, too). and he can play subdued as well - “Finding Neverland” is a good example.

I’m not so sure about this. I’d think Quentin, maybe, but Barnabas has that understated elegance that I’d wonder about with Johnny Depp. Plus for me, he’s just done so much lately that I’m afraid he’d pull me right out of the movie.

Me too!

Actually, I’ve never seen Dark Shadows, but there is very little I think Depp couldn’t handle, and this sounds well within his remarkable range, whether they decide to go re-imagined or an impression of the old one.

ETA: thirdwarning, have you seen Finding Neverland? “Understated elegance” pretty well covers it. And remember Don Juan DeMarco? Depp can smolder as well as camp.

Count me in the group that thinks Depp can pull this off. I will see it.

Guess I’m tellng my age here, but that was the one soap opera I actually watched in its original run and I mostly loved it.

I saw it evolve from at first, an “sorta-ghost” show right into werewolves/vampires/ etc.

Even got myself a Quentin Collins very-wide watch band.

Could Johnny Depp pull off the original Barnabas? No way in hell, IMHO. But…could he bring a fairly faithful new interpretation of Barnabas to the screen? I have to say, Heck, Yes!

It will be interesting, to say the least.

…And I am SURE it will be light years better than the first Dark Shadows movie they did way back then.

Search “You Tube” for Barnabas Collins there are lots of film clips there.
Also there is lots of info here and here .

Years before I was born there was a strange tv show. It was like a soap opera, but it featured a vampire named Barnabas Collins. To me it had an almost un-followable plotline, but my mother was one of the kids who watched it after school every day, and still likes watching the reruns when they’re on sci fi. Personally I can’t see Depp chewing the scenery like the orginial, but hey, why not give it a shot.

Depp has played such a wide variety of characters that I am prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt…even though *Charlie and the Chocolate Factory * sucked hard.