John Carpenter’s The Thing Prequel Gets a Director?

Posted by on January 19th, 2009   Filed under: Horror, Rumours
Source: FirstShowing.net

We’ve been hearing for a while now that a prequel and/or remake to John Carpenter’s The Thing might be happening, and that a script for the movie had already been written by Battlestar Galactica showrunner Ronald D. Moore. I’m sure John Carpenter fans will have mixed feelings about this, but after a year or two of waiting, it appears that the project is now finally a go. Some solid details about the story have started to leak out, in addition to the name of a possible director for the flick.

According to the folks over at Bloody Disgusting, the movie is definitely not a remake, and can loosely be characterized as a prequel in the sense that it tells what happened “from the Norwegian camp’s point of view”. There is also a possibility that the main character may end up being the brother of Macready (Kurt Russell’s character in the original), although I don’t see how that makes sense. Unless he is Norwegian?

The man who is in talks to take the helm is a young Dutch director by the name of Matthijs van Heijningen Jr. He comes from a TV commercial background, and his only other previous credits include a short film called Red Rain and the direct-to-video flick Zien. He is also apparently signed to direct Zack Snyder’s upcoming Army of the Dead. I’ve embedded a couple of van Heijningen’s commercials below (one of which could very well be a teaser trailer for the film). Given that this doesn’t seem to be a remake after all, are you excited about the idea? Can this movie come close to matching John Carpenter’s classic 1982 creature feature?



  • I’m even more excited that it’s not a remake! A prequel from the Norwegian camp sounds fantastic. I’m totally looking forward to hearing more about this.

  • swarez

    It’s good that it’s not a remake but you have wonder if the Norwegian side of the story isn’t almost exactly the same as the other one.

  • swarez

    It would be cool if they would end the film where the original began, with the last Norwegian getting shot. But that thing about Kurt Russel’s brother is just retarded.

  • It’s a good sign that Ronald D. Moore is associated with this, but I’m a little confused about what they plan to do with the story. I mean, the story or back-story of the alien itself isn’t what’s great about the original. And yeah, I’m swarez, the brother thing doesn’t make sense and it’s unnecessary anyways. How is it going to end up being anything other than basically the original, a bunch of dudes stuck in an isolated facility with a monster killing them one by one? Meh.

  • Bob The Slob

    yeah…good that its not a remake. bad that macready’s brother storyline might exist. also bad is why any of this news exists at all. fucking gay! leave it alone!

  • Bas

    The guy in the Land Rover is a cocksucker – why doesn’t he give the jealous dude a ride home?

  • Marcus M

    I think that this could be an interesting take on the story; however, the most fearful element within the ’82 film is that an air of the unknown surrounds the alien menace. The aspect of not knowing who is real or replica will definitely still be there, but I don’t think that it could ever reach the extent of Carpenter’s film. Also, if they do attempt to tie in a member of the Norwegian camp as being a relative of Macready is complete and utter nonsense.

  • GhodiGirl

    I disagree with those who say that the prequel in the Norwegian camp will basically be a retelling of what happened to the Americans. BECAUSE, in the prequel we will have the opportunity of going into the ship. That will be a special-effects person’s DREAM.

  • I agree with most of what everyone has said here. Especially Marcus M. After researching the cast known at this point, and the director’s history, I am doubtful that this prequel/remake will be worth seeing. It appears this is going to be a low budget, film whose main goal is to impress viewers who have probably never seen the original; namely young adult/teenage males aged 18 – 30. I think John Carpenter’s original was brilliant and very well done for the same reasons listed by Marcus M. It is a shame to see the film taking the low budget direction because there is so much potential when doing a prequel or even a remake. All the elements necessary for a great story are there, even if some of it becomes a rehash (some amount of rehashing is impossible to avoid). The whole Macready tie-in has got to go! Telling the story from the Norwegian Camp’s point of view could have some interesting things to explore. Seeing inside the ship would also be something. But given this film’s unknown/untried driectory, and mostly unknown cast I think we can bank on the fact that this film will rely on CGI effects and gore to carry its story line. Sad….I was hoping for more. I hope I end up being completely wrong about this film….but I doubt it. I just saw Clash Of The Titans…very disappointing. It wasn’t a horrible movie…just nothing worth noting and nothing worth remembering or adding to my DVD collection.