First Official Image from Tim Burton’s DARK SHADOWS Starring Johnny Depp

After the leak of disconcerting photos of Johnny Depp in make-up on the set of Tim Burton’s adaptation of the 1960s cult TV series Dark Shadows, Warner Bros. has released a somewhat-reassuring image of the cast.  The look is unmistakably Burton with an emphasis on distinctive costumes (I would say they look retro but the movie is in the 1970s) and daunting architecture.  Oh, and there’s Helena Bonham Carter’s ridiculous bright orange hair and white pancake make-up because Burton clearly can’t help himself.  As for Depp, you’ll notice the whiteface and big blue sunglasses are gone, but this a promo shot and the set photos are from another scene in the movie where his character, vampire Barnabas Collins, has to go out into broad daylight.

Hit the jump to check out the full image along with the official synopsis and descriptions for some of the character.  The film also stars Chloe Moretz, Eva Green, Gulliver McGrath, Bella Heathcote, Ray Shirley, Jackie Earle Haley, Jonny Lee Miller, and Michelle Pfeiffer.  Dark Shadows opens May 11, 2012.

Image via EW.

Here’s the official synopsis for Dark Shadows:

In the year 1752, Joshua and Naomi Collins, with young son Barnabas, set sail from Liverpool, England to start a new life in America. But even an ocean was not enough to escape the mysterious curse that has plagued their family. Two decades pass and Barnabas (Johnny Depp) has the world at his feet—or at least the town of Collinsport, Maine. The master of Collinwood Manor, Barnabas is rich, powerful and an inveterate playboy…until he makes the grave mistake of breaking the heart of Angelique Bouchard (Eva Green). A witch, in every sense of the word, Angelique dooms him to a fate worse than death: turning him into a vampire, and then burying him alive.

Two centuries later, Barnabas is inadvertently freed from his tomb and emerges into the very changed world of 1972. He returns to Collinwood Manor to find that his once-grand estate has fallen into ruin. The dysfunctional remnants of the Collins family have fared little better, each harboring their own dark secrets. Matriarch Elizabeth Collins Stoddard (Michelle Pfeiffer) has called upon live-in psychiatrist, Dr. Julia Hoffman (Helena Bonham Carter), to help with her family troubles.

Also residing in the manor is Elizabeth’s ne’er-do-well brother, Roger Collins, (Jonny Lee Miller); her rebellious teenage daughter Carolyn Stoddard (Chloe Moretz); and Roger’s precocious 10-year-old son, David Collins (Gulliver McGrath). The mystery extends beyond the family, to caretaker Willie Loomis, played by Jackie Earle Haley, and David’s new nanny, Victoria Winters, played by Bella Heathcote.

[Update: I have removed the character descriptions I originally included because they were copy-pasted out of the EW article and I should have taken the time to either paraphrase or comment on them.  I didn't and that was wrong of me.  I apologize to the article's author, Mr. Breznican, and to anyone else who was offended by my actions.  They did not meet the level of integrity I try to hold for myself personally or professionally.

If you would like to read more about the characters in Dark Shadows, please click here.]