Few horror films have gone through as many interpretations as The Thing. From 1951’s The Thing from Another World to John Carpenter’s masterful 1982 classic The Thing to the 2011 reboot/prequel to Carpenter’s film, confusingly also titled The Thing, people just can’t get enough of this story about a shape-shifting alien entity murdering scientists in Antarctica. And it looks like they’ll soon get a chance to see yet another version of the story, albeit this one promises to be a little different.
Another reboot of The Thing is reportedly in the works from Blumhouse Pictures and Universal Studios, according to Empire, but it will use different source material than the three previous versions. While those films were all based on the 1938 John W. Campbell Jr. novella Who Goes There?, the new one will be based on Campbell’s recently-unearthed novel, Frozen Hell. The novel is a much longer and more detailed version of the story told in Who Goes There? that was unknown to have existed until 2018, when its manuscript was discovered in a box of Campbell’s work at Harvard University. After a successful Kickstarter campaign resulted in the novel being published for the first time, it’s now Hollywood’s turn to take a crack at telling Campbell’s long-lost story.
While living up to Carpenter’s version will certainly be a challenge, the filmmakers behind the new reboot are making their rendition sound awfully impressive, pitching it as the most faithful realization ever of Campbell’s original vision. “It’s OFFICIAL! I received my signed contract and first check! I am Executive Producing a remake of The Thing but with additional chapters of John Campbell’s groundbreaking novel, Frozen Hell, that had been lost for decades,” producer Alan Donnes said, according to Empire. “Now, for the first time ever, Campbell’s full vision will be realized on the big screen. The new film will include the very best of RKO’s The Thing From Another World, John Carpenter’s classic The Thing and both books, Frozen Hell and Who Goes There?.”
There’s still no official confirmation from the studio that this reboot is a go, but we’re curious to see how it will turn out. The addition of the new material is certainly intriguing, but will the film be able to top Carpenter’s version? We’re not so sure.
