Things certainly are picking up at the gothic mansion where Tim Burton’s Dark Shadows will be set. Just yesterday, it was revealed that Jackie Earle Haley and Bella Heathcote are in talks to join the cast, and now comes word from Deadline that Eva Green has nabbed the female lead.
Green, still best known for Casino Royale, is locking in a deal to play Angelique Bouchard, a powerful witch who, in the original show at least, is the woman who originally puts the vampiric curse on Johnny Depp’s Barnabas Collins. Their back-story was explored in the mid-60s on the soap, and the pair developed an intense love connection that saw Angelique tormented by her feelings for her fanged creation.
Burton and Depp (who counts himself a massive fan of the series) have been itching to get the film version in front of cameras for ages now. And with a script from Seth Grahame-Smith, they finally seem ready to go. With all the fresh casting news, it sounds like Warners is committed to having them start shooting within a few months. Given Depp’s crowded schedule, who can blame the studio?