Deadline New York reports that Chloe Moretz has joined the cast of the new Dark Shadows movie to play Carolyn Stoddard, the daughter of Collinwood matriarch Elizabeth Collins Stoddard. The character was originally portrayed by Nancy Barrett. At 14 years of age, Moretz is the youngest actress to play the role (Carolyn was 18 years old in Dark Shadows' earliest episodes).
Chloe is best known for her roles in the cult superhero movie Kick Ass and Let Me In. She will also be seen in Martin Scorsese's upcoming film Hugo Cabret, in which Johnny Depp appears. Speaking to MTV at the Annual Comedy Awards last week, Moretz teased: "I just booked a huge project last night… it's huge! It's big, and it's crazy, and it involves some really cool actors."
Meanwhile, Deadline have also confirmed that Australian actor Gulliver McGrath will play David Collins, the troubled son of Roger Collins. The character was originally played by David Henesy. Gulliver's previous roles include the short film The Wake and the television series Rush. He's also set to feature in a minor role in Hugo Cabret.
Elsewhere, speaking to New York Magazine, actress Eva Green has confirmed that she will be playing the role of Angelique with an American accent, and a photograph has surfaced on Flickr, showing the early stages of construction on Dark Shadows' backlot set at Pinewood. To view the image, click here.
6 comments:
interesting they are castin Carolyn to be younger, but I think it will be a good thing. Carolyn and David can be closer in age. and attract younger audience as well.
I wonder if this has anything to do with the age of Michelle Pheiffer, who's not exactly "matriarchal." Hell, 10 years ago and I'd have lobbied for her to play Angelique ... she bares more than a passing resemblance to Lara Parker, after all. They've got the same smile.
I really enjoyed Chloe in "Let Me In"; great group of actors so far. Looking forward to this new adaptation of Dark Shadows. Hope it brings new interest to Dark Shadows!
Every announcement prompts more speculation in my mind. One industry post suggested that in this adaptation, Victoria Winters is a waitress in the town rather than a governess--but now that we know there is a David in the story, and a Roger Collins, I wonder. And how much of Barnabas's human life will we see? It was hugely important in the series, and they've cast an actor to play the young Barnabas--but Eva Green speaks of Angelique only in the present, with no connection to her past as a French-speaking Caribbean servant--so what story with young Barnabas are they telling? An now this: a younger Carolyn could double as Barnabas's sister (a far more credible age sibling age gap than in either TV series!)--but is Sarah Collins even a character?
It's my hope that they use the characters and craft a NEW story, rather than rehash the origin story in a rushed manner (as they did in House of Dark Shadows and the "revival" show.) You just can't compress 50+ hours of television into a two-hour movie and expect it to work. Which is why'd I'd have no problems with Burton and co. ignoring previous continuity and creating a Collins Saga for a new generation.
As long as it's respectful, that is.
Crafting a new story, a new continuity would be fine with many of us older fans; why shouldn't David or Carolyn now be in charge of Collinwood? Many of us would like to see that, or other changes and signs of continuity, but for today's audience, would be unnecessary?
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