There was a time when director John Carpenter believed a sequel to his cult sci-fi horror film The Thing would never see the light of day. That opinion has wavered a bit in the last few years, though, and it seems the chances of another film may be heating up.
Recently, Carpenter appeared at Fan Expo Philadelphia. While taking questions from the audience, he was asked about the possibility of a Thing sequel. “We’re working on it now,” said Carpenter. But before you get too excited, we should note that he then added, “I don’t know. We’ll see.”
Based on John W. Campbell Jr.’s short story, “Who Goes There,” The Thing centers on an Antarctic research team that stumbles across an alien species dug up from the ice. With the ability to replicate any life-form it devours, the team soon slips into paranoid terror. Who amongst them is still human…and who’s a “thing?”
The 1982 film was released by Universal and intended to bring Carpenter to the next level of his career. Unfortunately, The Thing bombed at the box office, only to later be regarded as one of the greatest sci-fi horror films of all time.
An excellent video game was released in 2002 that takes place after the events of The Thing. Back then, many considered it to be the closest we’d ever get to a sequel. A prequel starring Mary Elizabeth Winstead was eventually released in 2011 (to mostly negative reception). Still, it seems whenever we consider The Thing to be dead, it comes back in one form or another.
At this moment, we’ll remain cautiously optimistic until we hear something more official. But for now, the thought of Carpenter returning to The Thing in some fashion is enough to keep us warm while we wait for more news.
Watch the full interview from Fan Expo Philadelphia below.
Categorized: News
