The Best Sci-Fi Horror Film Of All Time Finally Getting A Sequel?
John Carpenter recently said that if the timing was right, he would helm the sequel to his iconic horror film, The Thing.
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With Halloween Ends slashing its way through the box office and streaming via Peacock this spooky season, fans of the franchise might be interested to know that original helmer John Carpenter is still interested in making movies and music. The 74-year-old filmmaker and composer was recently profiled in the run-up to Halloween Ends debuting in theaters, and MovieMaker reports that John Carpenter might be interested in a sequel to the best science fiction horror film of all time: The Thing. In his interview with the magazine, Carpenter noted that a sequel to The Thing could be in the works if the timing is right, and if the film could be funded and proposed to him in the right circumstances, he noted that “I’m not gonna say no.”
For a filmmaker known as one of the greatest living horror genre directors of all time, crafting a sequel to The Thing could be the crowning achievement of a career well done. This might be the most definitive answer that John Carpenter has given to the proposition of a sequel to The Thing since its initial release in theaters in the summer of 1982, and will most likely generate some buzz amongst the film’s ardent fanbase. While Carpenter has not been directly involved in directing a sequel to the movie in the past 40 years, The Thing has spawned haunted house attractions across the United States, board games, a video game, and even a prequel that was released in 2011 starring Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Joel Edgerton.
John Carpenter’s assertion that he might be interested in directing or at least being involved with a sequel to The Thing may increase renewed interest from audiences in a science fiction horror flick that has become quite the classic during the month of October. Released in 1982 after the success of John Carpenter’s other hits, 1978’s Halloween, 1980’s The Fog, and 1981’s Escape from New York, The Thing helped further along Carpenter’s frequent collaboration with actor Kurt Russell and the film was based on the novella Who Goes There? by John W. Campbell Jr. The Thing tells the story of a group of researchers who are hunted by a shape-shifting alien in Antarctica, fearing the fact that the alien can take the form and appearance of its victims, and the movie also starred Wilford Brimley, Keith David, T.K. Carter, and David Clennon.
When it had its run in theaters, John Carpenter believed The Thing might be a financial hit for Universal Pictures, although that wasn’t necessarily the case at first. The film went on to gross over $19 million at the box office against a budget of $15 million, but it gained quite a cult following in the 40 years since its premiere. Currently, Rotten Tomatoes ranks The Thing as Certified Fresh with a rating of 83% based on 78 critics’ reviews, as well as an Audience Score of 92% based on 100,000 ratings from verified users of the site, making it universally praised by critics and audiences to become the go-to science fiction horror film of its era.
