Despite its status as one of the greatest sci-fi horror films ever made, The Thing has never received a true sequel. Universal Pictures explored multiple follow-up options over the years, including a 2011 prequel and a planned remake, but none resulted in a direct continuation of John Carpenter’s 1982 classic. This article explains why The Thing sequel never happened, what attempts were made instead, and whether the franchise still has a future.
Is There a Sequel to The Thing?
The Thing traces its origins back to the 1938 John W. Campbell Jr. novella ‘Who Goes There?’. A 1951 feature film already adapted the novel for the first time, so the 1982 film can either be considered a remake or a second attempt at properly adapting the seminal novel. Even though the 1982 movie went through several directors and writers throughout its development cycle that began in the mid 70s, it was horror maestro John Carpenter who finally managed to bring the story to life.
Starring Kurt Russell, Keith David, and Wilford Brimley, 1982’s The Thing focuses on an arctic research team who come across an extraterrestrial life form in the vast icy tundra. As they realize that this alien can take any organic shape, including humans and animals, they attempt to blockade themselves in their research station. However, they find the alien has already taken the body of one of their own, and so begins an odyssey of death and destruction that puts the fate of all mankind at risk.
The Thing is a fantastic film, one that refuses to age even though more than 44 years have passed since it was first released. It has relatable characters, a central mystery that becomes more grotesque with each passing moment, and an unstoppable creature with abilities that defy anything else ever seen. Furthermore, since practical effects are used exclusively throughout, the film looks almost as good as when it was released all those years ago.
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The film has thus continued to resonate with audiences due to several reasons. The first is the mystery of this creature and its shocking abilities to take over organic beings. Two is the desolate setting of the story; the audience realizes no help is coming in the icy tundra and that no one is safe from meeting a terrible end. Finally, audiences love a realistic ending to such a story; humans don't always come out on top, and when they do, the trade-offs are too great.
Why Universal Never Made a Direct The Thing Sequel
While everyone loves the film today, most do not know that this was not always the case. The Thing shockingly debuted to horrible reviews and middling box office results when it first debuted in 1982. Made for $15 million, it barely managed to claw back $20 million in global box office receipts. At the same time, critics lambasted the film by listing a long set of supposed grievances that they did not agree with; the film was called too violent, the characters were called uninteresting, and the overall tone was considered overtly nihilistic. As a result, Carpenter immediately lost his next directing gig and the negative reception left a lasting impact on him for quite some time.
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However, fate had other plans. Once home media audiences discovered the film, they absolutely loved it, and it quickly shot up to one of the most highly rated films on IMDB. When Universal realized that the film was skyrocketing atop home media sales charts every other week, they slowly set about to develop some sort of a followup.
The Thing (2011): Why the Prequel Failed
While Universal was initially interested in a remake or a sequel, they were convinced by producers Marc Abraham and Eric Newman that doing so was akin to painting a moustache on the Mona Lisa. The producers argued that a prequel focused on what happened at the Norwegian Camp before the events of the 1982 film was the right way to go about this. This resulted in 2011’s The Thing, directed by Matthijs van Heijningen Jr and starring Joel Edgerton and Mary Elizabeth Winstead. Despite being better than it had any right to be, the 2011 feature also fizzled out at the box office and actually lost money in its theatrical run.
Blumhouse’s Cancelled The Thing Reboot Explained
Nine more years would pass before hope for a new feature based on The Thing was rekindled once more in 2020. Blumhouse, famous for making low-budget but hard-hitting horror features, announced that it was partnering with Universal Studios to make a new Thing movie. The two studios were said to be teaming up for a big-screen adaptation of the novella Who Goes There? (the novel that inspired the original movie), penned by John W. Campbell Jr., though this time the story will contain some new content from the never-before-seen, expanded version of the novel, titled Frozen Hell.
Having successfully resurrected the horror genre singlehandedly as well as making the fantastic Invisible Man reboot, Blumhouse was uniquely positioned to make this project a reality. However, their attempts to remake The Thing eventually went nowhere, and everyone involved quietly assumed it was dead once several years had passed. This was the last time anyone tried to make another Thing movie.
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Will There Ever Be a New The Thing Movie?
Thus, there are no immediate plans for a sequel to The Thing, even though the property has massive potential when it comes to expansion. With the failure of its prequel in 2011, any hope that fans might have had for a direct sequel came to an end, as studios will find it very difficult to invest in a project whose previous iterations have all lost money. There still might be a new The Thing feature sometime in the future, but presently, there seems to be nothing to allude to the fact. Let’s hope that the franchise owners show some resolve and get a new film based on this property made as soon as possible.
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