Home Entertainment New The Thing adaptation in the works, based on long-lost original novel

New The Thing adaptation in the works, based on long-lost original novel

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To paraphrase Lauren Hill’s 1998 RnB banger, it would appear that Hollywood is really all about that Thing, that Thing, that THIII-IIII-IIIING! [Ed’s note: Sorry, everyone]. John W. Campbell’s 1938 novella Who Goes There? has already been adapted to screen three times, first in 1951’s The Thing from Another World, then most-famously by John Carpenter in 1982’s The Thing, and most recently (and unmemorably) in 2011’s The Thing remake. And now we’re getting another version… but with a twist!

Bloody Disgusting broke the story that Universal Pictures has teamed up with small-budget horror maestros Blumhouse Productions for a new adaptation of Campbell’s story “about a team of scientists in Antarctica who discover and are terrorized by a monstrous, shape-shifting alien entity.”. This time though, it will actually be the whole story. When Campbell first released Who Goes There?, it was in the August 1983 issue of Astounding Science Fiction, and was, in fact, an abridged version of Frozen Hell, a full-length novel he had been working on which had to be shortened for publication. His original unabridged manuscript was never released publicly and had been believed lost.

That was until 2018 when sci-fi author John Betancourt managed to track down a copy of it. He originally started a Kickstarter fund to try to get Frozen Hell published in its entirety, but as Betancourt updated this week, Universal and Blumhouse have stepped in to get this made into a feature film now. Exec Producer Alan Donnes confirmed the news on his Facebook page, with this statement:

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?

It’s not clear what additional content Frozen Hell adds to this tale, and I am intrigued though as to just how different this well-trod tale could be. Blumhouse most definitely feels like a fantastic fit for this story though, although it’s still too early in the development for any writers/directors to be attached.

Last Updated: January 29, 2020

10 Comments

  1. The Thing!
    Not to be confused with loveable ol’ Ben Grimm.

    Reply

  2. Daniel Hallinan

    January 29, 2020 at 10:18

    Interesting!

    I’m very curious as to what they’ll add, though I’m a bit nervous about the phrase “vital backstory and context”, as suggests a very modern (and frustrating) concern that total exposition is required so that “the audience gets it”, when it’s very often just not needed.

    Still, I’m eager to wait and see how this developes!

    Reply

  3. HvR

    January 29, 2020 at 09:22

    So rebooting 80/90 cheesy horror movies is this decade’s thing it seems.

    *goes looking for another corona to down*

    Reply

    • Pariah

      January 29, 2020 at 09:22

      Just make sure it’s not the corona-virus, eh?

      Reply

    • HairyEwok

      January 29, 2020 at 09:31

      Thing is, people will probably still prefer the oldies over the new ones.

      Reply

    • Original Heretic

      January 29, 2020 at 09:36

      Don’t just have one, have NINE CORONAS.

      Reply

  4. Original Heretic

    January 29, 2020 at 09:36

    Damn. I’ve been steeping myself in Lovecraftian lore of late (due to writing a story of that ilk), and it’s amazing you can see HPL’s influence on so many works that came after.

    Reply

    • JacoZAB

      January 29, 2020 at 10:42

      I recently bought the complete works of HPL, I can’t put the book down, It’s so good.

      Reply

      • Original Heretic

        January 29, 2020 at 11:08

        Heh, awesome. I picked that up about 2 years ago, also couldn’t stop reading.
        For the past two months, it’s been staring at me as the story idea churned in my head.
        I finished it a couple days back and my one mate who is a huge HPL fan considers it a brilliant addition to the mythos. Not that I can submit it anywhere. It’s too long!

        Reply

  5. Hammersteyn

    January 29, 2020 at 10:48

    As long as it’s a new story. I liked how the last one was a prequel instead of a reboot.

    Reply

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