Dark Shadowsis an upcoming gothic dramedy film based on the 1966–1971 gothic soap opera of the same name . The film is directed by Tim Burton and stars Johnny Depp as Barnabas Collins , a 200-year-old vampire, and Michelle Pfeiffer as his cousin Elizabeth Collins Stoddard , a reclusive matriarch of the Collins family. It is scheduled to be released onMay 11, 2012in both conventional and IMAX theaters.

In 1752, the Collins family sails from Liverpool, England to North America. The son, Barnabas, grows up to be a wealthy playboy in Collinsport, Maine and is the master of Collinwood Manor. He breaks the heart of a witch, Angelique Bouchard, who turns him into a vampire and buries him alive. In 1972, Barnabas is accidentally freed from his coffin and returns to find his once-magnificent mansion in ruin. The manor is currently occupied by Barnabas' dysfunctional descendants, all of whom are hiding dark and horrifying secrets.