John Carpenter Confirms Involvement With The Thing Reboot at Blumhouse

John Carpenter has confirmed that he’s attached to The Thing reboot at Blumhouse Pictures. Carpenter was doing an appearance at the Fantasia International Film Festival over the weekend, to discuss the score for the upcoming Halloween Kills. As Variety reports, during a Q&A, Carpenter was asked about what other projects he may be working on with Blumhouse, to which the horror maestro responded: “I have? I don’t know about that. 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.” Since Carpenter made the cult-hit 1981 The Thing, this will be good news for fans of that film!

Word about Blumhouse’s The Thing reboot first hit the Internet in January. At the time, it was said that Blumhouse and producer Alan Donnes were working on a film that would adapt Frozen Hell, the full-length story of author John W. Campbell’s novella Who Goes There?, which has served as the inspiration for the 1950s version of The Thing, as well as Carpenter’s 1981 film. Donnes posted the following statement on Facebook:

“It’s OFFICIAL! I received my signed contract and first check! I am Executive Producing a remake of THE THING but with additional chapters of John Campbell’s groundbreaking novel, Frozen Hell, that had been lost for decades. Now, for the first time ever, Campbell’s full vision will be realized on the big screen. The new film will include the very best of RKO’s THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD, John Carpenter‘s classic THE THING and both books, Frozen Hell and Who Goes There?“

Fan’s love of The Thing franchise has been smoldering along since the last installment (The Thing (2011), a companion story to Carpenter’s film) arrived in theaters. The discovery of Campbell’s full Frozen Hell novel material even prompted a Kickstarter campaign, which has been celebrating this win for the franchise as it moves forward.

John Carpenter famously returned to executive produce, shepherd, and contribute to the music of the Halloween (2018) direct sequel; as many fans would probably agree, his presence made a palpable difference in how that film was received. The vibe and aesthetic that made people turn Carpenter’s original film into a horror-classic were that much easier for the new generation of directors to capture.

The biggest criticisms of The Thing (2011) was that it felt like a generic Hollywood imitation of Carpenter’s unique vision and that it felt like an empty rehash of the 1981 film. Hopefully, this new Blumhouse reboot of The Thing can avoid both of those pitfalls.