Official Trailer for Dark Shadows

Warner Bros. have just released the first official trailer for Dark Shadows. Director Tim Burton's screen interpretation of the cult horror-soap opera stars Johnny Depp (Sleepy Hollow) as Barnabas Collins, a vampire who emerges from a two-hundred-year slumber in order to lay claim to Collinwood Manor and his once-proud family estate.

However, the presence of Angelique Bouchard (Eva Green, Casino Royale) complicates matters considerably; the evil witch who turned Collins, Angelique is willing to do anything to win his affections, even if it means destroying Barnabas and his entire bloodline.

Written by Seth Grahame-Smith (Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter) and John August (Big Fish), Dark Shadows features an impressive supporting cast that includes Michelle Pfeiffer (Batman Returns), Jonny Lee Miller (Trainspotting), Chloë Grace Moretz (Hugo), Jackie Earle Haley (Watchmen), Christopher Lee (The Lord of the Rings Trilogy), and Helena Bonham Carter (Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street).

Until now, the studio has revealed little about this latest cinematic collaboration between Depp and Burton - their eighth picture together in a partnership spanning back to 1990's Edward Scissorhands. The trailer suggests that the finished film will have a strongly comedic bent; it subordinates the conflict between Barnabas and Angelique, choosing instead to highlight the culture shock Barnabas experiences as he enters the 1970's.

Dark Shadows' scheduled U.S. release date is May 11th, 2012.