Posted in: Horror, Movies | Tagged: film, horror, john carpenter, mary elizabeth winstead, sci-fi, the thing

The Thing Prequel Director Reveals Scrapped Sequel Plans

The director of The Thing prequel from 2011 is revealing details about a cancelled sequel that could have kept the story alive.

It's been over a decade since the release of the prequel to John Carpetner's The Thing, and despite a lukewarm response upon launch, the film has gone on to become a genre classic. Unfortunately, we're now officially burdened with the frustrating knowledge that a sequel could have happened if fans had rallied a little stronger. Sigh… So here's what's currently being said about the canceled movie.

The 2011 Prequel to The Thing Almost Earned a Sequel (Which We Still Deserve)

Matthijs van Heijningen Jr., director of the 2o11 prequel to the iconic film The Thing, addressed his scrapped sequel plans for the sic-fi horror flick, explaining to SyFy, "We fantasized about a sequel. Kate would escape and would be picked up at sea and tries to warn the world at an oil platform near the South Pole. The monster would break loose on the the rig. I liked the oil rig mayhem idea." The filmmaker then explains, "The Carpenter version was so good, and a lot of fans were almost offended by the prequel and didn't see the necessity for a follow-up. But now I fully understand that it was a bit early."

When discussing the film's intention to create parallels with the original movie, the director notes, "The Carpenter film gave us some real insight of several places in the camp. It was up to us to make them all logically connected. I remember that we had some fun with the two-headed monster because that was lying burned outside, and we had to imagine how it got there. Those clues not only helped us construct the layout of the Norwegian camp, but they also helped creating logic in what happened at the camp."

While the follow-up film never managed to manifest, the film has found quite a cult audience over the years (us included) who can appreciate strong performances, a solid mystery, and the ability to recreate Carpenter's vision for a new generation.

With all that in mind, is anyone else still kind of hoping for another Mary Elizabeth Winstead story set within The Thing universe? Sound off in the comments below.

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