Universal makes The Thing official

Following on from word earlier this month, Universal has put the official stamp on a new version of The Thing, signing up Matthijs Van Heijningen to direct a script penned by BSG’s Ron Moore.

As previously expected, the new film is going back to basics, borrowing heavily from John W Campbell’s short story Who Goes There?, which spawned both Howard Hawks’ The Thing From Another World And John Carpenter’s 1982 version.

Serving as a prequel to Carpenter's pic, Campbell’s story is set in a Norwegian research camp and follows the very first contact with the shapeshifting alien and its systematic destruction of the humans who live there.

There's no confirmation of Van Heijningen's idea - which we previously reported on - to have a link between a character in this film and Kurt Russell's. We're still hoping not.

While he's also attached to Zack Snyder's Army Of The Dead, Van Heijningen hasn’t directed any movies himself, but he’s an in-demand advert creator – check out one of his spots below.

While we’re sceptical that a new take can best Carpenter’s seminal chiller, we’re encouraged by the fact that the scriptwriter is the same man who made Battlestar Galactica into quality telly. Crossed tendrils, everyone...

[Source: Variety ]

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