I have no idea how this one passed me by.
As a huge fan of John Carpenter, Kurt Russell and Howard Hawks, The Thing is one of my favorite films. I have vague memories of rumblings about sequels and remakes, but I never knew that anything even remotely concrete was beginning to form. Well it turns out that a story is in place that sets the film before the events of John Carpenter’s film.
Producer Marc Abraham had this to say to Latino Review:
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“This is more of a prequel than a sequel, there is your exclusive. It’s going to be taking place in the same time frame.”
He went on to say:
“These are the events leading up to the 1982 film.”
The first film is set in an Antarctic research station where a shape-shifting alien kills the men stationed there one by one. The opening of the film, to the sounds of a pulsating Ennio Morricone score, follows a Norwegian helicopter as it tracks a dog (The Thing) to the research base where Kurt Russell and his fellow crew are stationed.
One can only presume that this prequel will be set in the Norwegian research station, and that the film’s finale will be the above mentioned helicopter chase.
I’m not sure what to think about this. I’m against remaking classics, however The Thing was itself a remake of a great Howard Hawks film called The Thing from Another World, which in turn was based on a novella named “Who Goes There?.” Both films are excellent in their own way.
Ideally I’d like to see Russell back as MacReady with Carpenter wielding the megaphone, but I don’t think that’ll ever happen.
It’s interesting news, and as with any John Carpenter related stories - I’ll keep you posted.
Source: Latino Review
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8 Comments
That actually sounds like a good idea. I think they addressed what happened at a the Norwegian station on comic book form many years ago. I might actually have those. I’ll have to find them.
The Swedish blokes, I mean the Norwegians? So I take it we can expect bad accents all round then.
Personally can’t see this standing up to the Thing. The mood of that one is so gripping, and if they go CGI then it just won’t compare.
Be more interested in the aftermath of the Thing to be honest, with Russell and Davids left in the cold. Much more possibilites there.
Yeah I have to agree with Steven the Git on this one.
This concept sounds like were gonna see the Norg’s going thru the same thing as the Americans.
There prob gonna try to get Russell in this somehow.
Maybe he could do some voice over work as he calls the Norg’s on the sqawk box ???
(IMO),,,
They won’t be able to capture the same feeling of dread Carpenter did.
I’ve been following and searching this story for months now! Yeah I know I’ve kept real quiet, so how can all of you tell I’m not blowing smoke. Well who among you would dare take a trip with me to where Carpenter filmed “The Thing” next year? We’ll camp over night if you dare at the place where Carpenters movie was filmed up in Stewart B.C. 56 11′19.59″ N 130 03′16.49″ W
We’ll visit the old haunt of the crew of the film, and perhaps get “Hyderized” then go to take a seat in a makeshift seasonal theater to re-watch Carpenter’s classic! Sound unbelievable, go to http://www.outpost31.com for details click on Stewart, B.C. Trip 2009 located on the menu on the right.
Carpenter’s movie follows the book closer with respects to the ability of the creature as well as captures the horror of the situation. First It’s like being told that the closest person to you has cancer, then as the movie progresses your told you might have the cancer too! EEK! Scary stuff. The isolation that’s in the story parallels the real situation of a cancer patient too. Can’t get away, confrontation is inevitable, give up, survive, or die trying! Gruesome stuff, made more visceral by its close parallels to reality.
Wait a minute, is he talking about the movie or the disease??
Ha both! It’s sad, how can you remake or trump such an incredible story? You can perhaps revisit it. You’ll get that in a prequel. Hopefully whoever is doing it has enough creativity and genius to expand the experience into the mysterious.
The second worst choice I say.
A sequel in the Hollywood-sense would have been more of a remake - anyone remember ESCAPE FROM L.A.? Show and tell everything again for all the dummy audiences out there.
No, this time it’s the second worst choice.
Another prequel that tells a story we already KNEW. Yeah, yeah, “it will be interesting to see the Norwegians”… blah!
No, it was BY FAR more interesting to IMAGINE and GUESS what had happened at the Norwegian station!
And now we will get the easy version - George Lucas would approve - where everything is told and shown to death.
A really bold move would have been to show an almost depopulated earth, run over by Things and an older MacReady still around to lead the war against them. Have them meet other aliens to join the battle or dig up the UFO at Antarctica and learn something from it (or fly elsewhere).
But no one seems to come up with an interesting idea these days in Hollywood…
I say it again: Hands off the classics!
ZAR.
Theres no point in a prequel when we see the Norwegian camp we get a good idea what happened to them and it’s quite similar what happens in the original. I’d rather a see a sequel and know what happened to Macready and Childs I wish universal let him go ahead and do the sequel he wanted to do.
Prequel = can’t possibly do a remake or a postmake justice.
I fear for the legend of “The Thing” with this film, folks.
@Mike
Oh, don’t worry about the legend. Just as the awful AVP movies didn’t affect how people look upon the movies they were based on, neither will this if it stinks.
Vic
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