The Thing - John Carpenter talks about the sequel again

After years of rumors, John Carpenter seems to have finally confirmed that a sequel to his 1982 cult classic The Thing is in the works. During the recent Fan Expo in Philadelphia, the director — now 77 — answered a fan's question about whether there would ever be a sequel to the film, stating with surprising simplicity: “We're working on it now. I don't know, we'll see.”

Carpenter's words, captured in a video shared on social media, immediately reignited, at least in part, enthusiasm. The director did not add further details, and it is unclear whether the project will see Carpenter return behind the camera or if, as happened with the recent Halloween reboots, he will only be involved as a producer and composer.

This is not the first time Carpenter has hinted at a possible The Thing 2: already at the Texas Frightmare Weekend in 2023 he had stated that he had “been made aware of secrets” adding “there might be The Thing 2”. Now, however, his words sound more concrete than ever.

The prequel accepted the challenge and emerged victorious

Released in 1982, the film was initially met with disappointing reviews and box office results at the time, because it was the same year as E.T., and the mass of viewers preferred the good alien to the malevolent one. The Thing has long been considered an absolute masterpiece of sci-fi horror. The story of the group of Americans operating at an Antarctic base who find themselves face to face with an alien creature capable of perfectly imitating all forms of life has become a symbol of paranoia and fear of the unknown. That “Who goes there?” still echoes in the memories of those who saw that film when it arrived in Italian cinemas.

After a more than decent prequel, which recounted the events that occurred at the Norwegian base, the main question remains as always: will the script pick up from the two survivors? Kurt Russell and Keith David could return to the scene, or will it slide into an adventure where the entire planet will witness a gruesome, insidious presence like the one depicted in the equally magnificent Invasion of the Body Snatchers?