Depp to Star as Barnabas Collins in Dark Shadows Film

Johnny Depp may go from playing a demon barber to a famous vampire, according to Variety.

The versatile actor, who will play the title role in frequent collaborator Tim Burton's upcoming adaptation of Sondheim's Sweeney Todd, will play "vampire patriarch" Barnabas Collins in a film of "Dark Shadows," the gothic cult hit that ran from 1966 and 1971.  The film, under the Warner Brothers banner, will be produced by Depp's Infinitum-Nihil, Graham King of GK Films and David Kennedy. They recently acquired the rights from the estate of "Dark Shadows" creator/producer Dan Curtis, who passed away last year.

"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," states Variety. The show, which starred Jonathan Frid as Barnabas Collins, still has a sizable fan base.

The industry magazine also reports that Depp has a few other projects in development, including Mira Nair's Shantaram and a possible film about Alexander Litvinenko, the Russian spy whose poisoning made headlines last year.  An Oscar-nominee for Finding Neverland and the first Pirates of the Caribbean (in which he played the swaggering Captain Jack Sparrow), Depp has also been seen on screen in The Libertine, From Hell, Blow, Sleepy Hollow, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, What's Eating Gilbert Grape, Edward Scissorhands and Cry-Baby, among many others.

Photo of Johnny Depp by Linda Lenzi