‘The Thing’ (New Version From Universal and Blumhouse)

[Himmel]

John Carpenter’s The Thing and the film that preceded it, 1951’s The Thing from Another World, were both adaptations of the novella Who Goes There?, penned by John W. Campbell Jr. It was first published in the August 1938 issue of Astounding Science Fiction, and an expanded, never-before-seen version was recently unearthed.

Back in 2018, John Betancourt announced the discovery of a novel-length version of the classic novella, and he took to Kickstarter to fund the release of the novel, titled Frozen Hell.

Betancourt explained, “In 1938, acclaimed science fiction author John W. Campbell published the novella Who Goes There?, about a team of scientists in Antarctica who discover and are terrorized by a monstrous, shape-shifting alien entity. The story would later be adapted into John Carpenter’s iconic movie The Thing (following an earlier film adaptation in 1951). The published novella was actually an abridged version of Campbell’s original story, called Frozen Hell, which had to be shortened for publication. The Frozen Hell manuscript remained unknown and unpublished for decades, and it was only recently rediscovered “Frozen Hell expands the Thing story dramatically, giving vital backstory and context to an already incredible tale.

Donnes wrote, “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. 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. Source

[Cremildo]

I dread and, at the same tie, kind of anticipate the day we'll see a similar thread about Alien.

[snipemonkey]

The Thing 2020 aka The Cash-Grab That Absolutely No One Was Asking For

[MazeRunner]

After how terrible Black Cristmas was, I dread every upcoming remake Blumhouse decides to do.

[Chaotic]

Can't be worse than their Black Christmas.

2011 version is underrated.

[MazeRunner]

Originally Posted by Chaotic

Can't be worse than their Black Christmas.

2011 version is underrated.

[insert argument between female and male characters about how The Thing CAN turn into females too.]

[TheWildWhelk]

I thought that, as a prequel to JC's original that The Thing 2011 was quite superb, only kneecapped by having the same damn title as the original, thus leading audiences to think that it was a remake. (The Thing Begins? The Thing: Awakening? The Thing: Don't Stop Me Now...) The idea of a remake based on the source material is interesting, but it needs to steer clear of any element of the JC version, which isn't going to happen, so no.

[Foggy]

**** sake.

[tcripe]

oh no

[MifuneFan]

With the expanded novel that came out, this was inevitable.

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by TheWildWhelk

I thought that, as a prequel to JC's original that The Thing 2011 was quite superb, only kneecapped by having the same damn title as the original, thus leading audiences to think that it was a remake. (The Thing Begins? The Thing: Awakening? The Thing: Don't Stop Me Now...) The idea of a remake based on the source material is interesting, but it needs to steer clear of any element of the JC version, which isn't going to happen, so no.

I agree, this would be the tricky thing--JC's version works because he was on-point with the theme of cosmic horror and nihilism, clearly inspired by Lovecraft. And those elements exist in most of JC's films, so if it boils down to gutting these aspects, the remake will more than likely miss the point of what makes The Thing scary at all.

If it's other elements you're thinking of--like Macready in all his coolness, the blood test scenes, the CPR scene, the dog scene--I have a feeling there will be callbacks, if not outright recreations, simply because they're iconic, recognizable, and would be an easy sell.

I dunno, the more I think about this the more afraid I am that they'll just turn this into a rehash with added jump scares and CGI, but less atmosphere and depth. Which is a shame, because cosmic horror seems to be in these days thanks to films like The Void, Mandy, The Color Out of Space, and so forth. I actually would be more excited if they announce a guy like Cosmatos as the director. Until then, I'll keep my expectations tempered.

[CreasyBear]

F**k this noise. Nope. No. Nada. Get the f**k out of here.

Blumhouse needs to get a grip. Make original films like Get Out and Split, not remake classics that absolutely do not need updating.

[tonylopez]

At least this implies Universal could release a 4K UHD of the the Carpenter classic to coincide with this.

[kwisatzhaderach]

First goddamn week of winter.

[JEDGAR1000]

Fine by me as long as its approached as a new adaptation of the novel and not a remake of JCs movie.

[heineken]

Hollywood is truly pathetic. Hard pass.

[Mikezilla3k]

*breathes deeply*

WWWWWWWWWWWWWHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY YYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Damon1281]

Why not?

[heineken]

Because it's not necessary. John Carpenter's is perfect.

[Kaiju]

lol I must be the only one who isn't opposed to this. If you haven't learned already that Hollywood is going to continue sticking its greedy hands all over whatever little properties they can reboot, then that's on you. They're going to do it until the end of time. We'll probably see more things like this for years to come. This will not be the last The Thing movie. Mark my words.

Given the fact they'll just reboot any somewhat known property at this point, why not The Thing? I'd rather see this sort of thing over a new Charlie's Angels... but hey, to each his own. This probably won't be good, but with Blumhouse behind the project, I have some faith.