John Carpenter's The Thing Is Getting A Reboot

John Carpenter has revealed that he is currently in the process of remaking or rebooting his 1982 sci-fi horror classic, The Thing. Speaking on a panel over the weekend at Fantasia International Film Festival, the director was asked during the Q&A portion whether he has any new directing projects currently in the pipeline with production partner Jason Blum of Blumhouse Productions.

"[That] I have? I don't know about that," Carpenter said (via Variety). "But we've talked about--I think he's going to be working on The Thing, rebooting The Thing. I'm involved with that, maybe. Down the road."

This quote confirms rumors from back in January, when producer Alan Donnes' posted to Facebook: "It's official! I received my signed contract and first check! I am executive producing a remake of The Thing." Details remain scarce about the project, but reportedly the movie could be another crack at adapting the source material. Whereas 1982's The Thing was based on the 1938 John W. Campbell Jr. novella Who Goes There?, this upcoming new version will draw inspiration from Frozen Hell, the unabridged version of Campbell's earlier work.

The original The Thing, a cult classic, starred Kurt Russell as an American helicopter pilot working with a team of scientists to research bizarre events and explosions occurring at a research station in Antarctica. It featured a soundtrack from Ennio Morricone (A Fistful of Dollars, The Hateful Eight), and also starred Keith David (Platoon, Community) and Wilford Brimley (True Grit).