Eva Green joins Depp in Burton's 'Dark Shadows'

(AFP PHOTO/Ben Stansall)

Johnny Depp is set to play vampire Barnabas Collins in Tim Burton's upcoming film Dark Shadows and will be joined by Bond girl Eva Green ( Casino Royale), who has been cast as the witch Angelique.

Based on the popular and campy gothic US television show from the 1960s, the story involves encounters with various monsters, werewolves and ghosts.

Previously reported, Jackie Earle Haley ( Nightmare on Elm Street) and Bella Heathcote are in talks to join the cast. Heathcote will play Victoria, the governess on the estate, and is also set to be featured in Twylight Zones, a 1960s-set rock film by David Chase ( The Sopranos).

The screenplay is by Burton's scribe, John August ( Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), and Seth Grahame-Smith, who wrote the mash-up novel Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and the book and screenplay for Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.

The film goes into production in April for release in 2012.

RC