Thing almost ready?

In the past I’ve learned that Production Weekly isn’t exactly the most ironclad of sources for scoops (they had Judd Apatow listed as a producer on GHOSTBUSTERS 3, which couldn’t be further from the truth) but they might be on to something with their latest story. They claim that Universal has set a March start date for the long-in-developing THE THING prequel.

Matthijs van Heijningen Jr. is still attached to direct the film, which will supposedly follow the events prior to John Carpenter’s film from the point of view of the Norwegian camp who chase the dog into the American base at the beginning of the 1982 film. I think we’re all a little leery of a new THING movie, whether it be a remake, sequel or prequel but they’ve been talking about this for so long, it’s happening no matter what. I certainly like this concept better though than a sequel or that disastrous miniseries that was planned (and eventually dropped). Production is allegedly set to take place in Toronto and should the news be correct, we can expect to hear casting news soon.