As he puts the finishing touches to Alice In Wonderland, which arrives in cinemas next March, Tim Burton's thoughts are likely to be turning shortly to his next project. And thanks to SciFi Wire, we now know that the project will be Dark Shadows.

Dark Shadows is based on the gothic TV soap of the same name that ran in the 1960s, and the film's producer - Graham King - has confirmed that it's going into production next year. He said, while promoting his new film The Young Victoria, "We're actually going to shoot that film next September/October with Tim Burton and Johnny."

Johnny Depp is set to play vampire Barnabas Collins in Dark Shadows, and King reveals that "We've been working on the script a lot, even though [Tim Burton is] working on Alice. We've been given a script. John August wrote the first screenplay. We're making some changes, but the film's going to be in production, as I say, September or October of next year."

King didn't offer many more details, and presumably the film has to fit around Johnny Depp's shooting schedule for Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, which begins filming next year too. Catch the story here.

We're guessing Dark Shadows will be set for release towards the end of 2011.