Back in July of last year,  we brought you the news that Seth Grahame-Smith had been brought on by Tim Burton and Johnny Depp to replace John August as the writer for the long-gestating theatrical version of Dark Shadows.

Then in November, we brought you a report that the Tim Burton (Frankenweenie) directed, big-screen adaptation of Dark Shadows would finally begin filming in April of 2011, which was moved up from the original January start that was reported earlier. Now, Deadline reports that Jackie Earle Haley (Human Target, Bolden!), and Bella Heathcote (Beneath Hill 60, Now) are in talks to join the cast, alongside Johnny Depp.

If he signs on, Jackie Earle Haley would portray Willie Loomis, a small-time con artist who, upon discovering a portrait of Barnabas Collins (Johnny Depp) wearing several luxurious jewels, decides to break into his coffin and rob him. Instead, he wakes the vampire from his slumber and is enslaved. Bella Heathcoate would play Victoria Winters, the young governess of the Collins estate.

A release date for Dark Shadows has yet to be confirmed.