Tim Burton Will Shoot DARK SHADOWS Next Year

Tim Burton confirmed Johnny Depp's earlier claims – that the big screen adaptation of the cult horror-soap “Dark Shadows” will begin production in 2010. A few weeks ago Depp said that he'll be shooting “Dark Shadows” and a fourth “Pirates of the Caribbean” film next year. An executive in Depp's production told MTV that the film “is very active” and “the studio will be making some announcements regarding it pretty soon. Very soon, probably.” Tim Burton told “he's spending every waking moment” on his  adaptation of “Alice in Wonderland.” As soon as he's finished with ‘Alice,' which is due in theaters early next year, he'll finally begin work with Depp, again, on “Dark Shadows.” “That's something that [Depp and I] both love and are excited about. When I'm done with this I'll definitely focus on that,” Burton told MTV News. “It's another challenge because it was such a weird soap opera,” Burton explained. “Part of the energy of it was the tone and weirdness of it. That's our challenge, to try to capture that vibe.” The new, Tim Burton's movie version is written by John August and is based on the cult '60s supernatural TV show created by Dan Curtis that aired weekdays on ABC, from 1966 to 1971. With over 1,225 episodes, “Dark Shadows” was a highly atmospheric, spooky soap that featured gothic horror staples like vampires, monsters, witches, werewolves, ghosts and zombies. The series starred Jonathan Frid as Barnabas Collins, a nearly two-hundred-year-old vampire who is released from his coffin to both help and terrorise the inhabitants of the sleepy town Collinwood. Depp will reportedly play vampire Barnabas Collins. “It's exciting, very exciting. It's like a lifelong dream for me. I loved the show when I was a kid. I was obsessed with Barnabas Collins. I have photographs of me holding Barnabas Collins posters when I was five or six. I'm very excited to do it,” Depp told.