'Dark Shadows' Reboot: Everything We Know About 'Reincarnation' Revival

The CW had scrapped the 'Dark Shadows' reboot in 2020.

By Megan Behnke

Whatever happened to the ill-fated Dark Shadows reboot? It was announced back in 2019 that The CW and Warner Bros. Television were developing a new series based on the 1966 cult classic soap opera. Titled Dark Shadows: Reincarnation, the re-imagined series "will be a modern-day continuation of the strange, terrifying, and sexy saga of the Collins family of Collinsport, Maine — a mysterious, influential, publicity-shy group hiding a ghastly secret: For the past 400 years, they've lived under a curse that bedevils their blue blood with every imaginable supernatural creature and horror," according to Deadline.

Created by Dan Curtis, Dark Shadows aired for six seasons from 1966 to 1971 and had nearly 1,250 episodes by the end of its run. The pilot for Reincarnation was to be written by Mark B. Perry, who also served as executive producer with Amasia Entertainment's Michael Helfant, Bradley Gallo, and Tracy Mercer, as well as Tracy Curtis and Cathy Curtis. In 2020, it was reported that The CW had scrapped the reboot, as TVLine shared that the show never made it past the pilot stages.

In 2021, executive producer and writer Mark B. Perry told Bloody Disgusting that while Warner Bros. and The CW were happy with the script, there was very little room to pick up a new series at the network because The CW had picked up "their entire schedule" minus Supernatural which was done. At the time, he shared that there was another script, "and we are getting ready to go back out with it again." As of now, though, there doesn't seem to be any new updates.

Related:

Whether a new reboot could still come later down the line is unknown, but if it were to happen, it's likely The CW would not be a choice due to the wildly different programming it has now as opposed to a few years ago. Reincarnation is not the first reboot in the franchise, attempted or aired, and it probably won't be the last because of how popular the original Dark Shadows was. It doesn't necessarily mean that Reincarnation won't happen, as it's entirely possible that Perry is continuing to shop it to other networks, but it's hard to tell.

There's a reason why Dark Shadows has been revived or attempted to be revived on more than a few occasions, and it's likely just a matter of time before another one comes to fruition, whether it's Reincarnation or another series or film. Fans will just have to wait and see.

Trending Now: