Variety is reporting that Johnny Depp's Infinitum Nihil is teaming up with Warner Bros. for a big screen version of the 1960s horror-themed soap opera Dark Shadows with Depp portraying the vampire patriarch Barnabas Collins.  The rights to the long-running horror sudser were acquired from the estate of the series' original producer/director Dan Curtis, who died last year.

More than 1,225 episodes of Dark Shadows aired on ABC from 1966 to 1971, inspiring a strong fan following that still holds annual Dark Shadows conventions.  Dan Curtis directed two Dark Shadows feature films in the early 1970s and the property inspired two series of novels, a comic strip, and a comic book series from Gold Key (and a short one from Innovation).  The prospect of a major new Dark Shadows movie driven by Johnny Depp's immense star power should certainly revive this powerful property whose influence on the development of 'Gothic' culture in modern society has been greatly underestimated.