For the beginning of its history, Blumhouse made a name for itself by launching new film franchises in the horror genre, including “Paranormal Activity,” “The Purge,” and “Insidious.” However, recently, the film studio has taken a look at popular IP that is ripe for rebooting, including “Fantasy Island,” “The Invisible Man,” and “Halloween.” And apparently, the rebooting is going to continue at Blumhouse with John Carpenter’s “The Thing.”
Speaking at this year’s Fantasia Fest, John Carpenter was asked if he had talked to Jason Blum and Blumhouse about possibly directing any features. This comes after the two teamed up with David Gordon Green and Danny McBride to turn “Halloween” into a monster hit in 2018.
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“I have? I don’t know about that,” Carpenter said. “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.”
When you look at the filmography of Carpenter, there are many that would put “The Thing” right up at the top. The 1982 film is a remake itself of a ‘50s creature feature about a group of people trapped in an icy locale as a parasitic alien begins to wipe them out. For decades, Carpenter’s “The Thing” has been included as one of the very best horror films of all time and is definitely no stranger to remakes. Before Blumhouse got ahold of it, “The Thing” was remade in 2011 with Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Joel Edgerton leading the cast. Despite its modest budget, that version of the film was ultimately a box office failure.
This isn’t the first time that Blumhouse has been linked to a remake of “The Thing.” Back in January, it was reported that the studio was working on a new version based on the unreleased novel by author John W. Campbell. But at that time, it wasn’t known if Carpenter was attached.
Much like “Scarface,” the fact that Carpenter’s “The Thing” is a remake itself makes it difficult for fans to get upset at Blumhouse making a new iteration. Thankfully, this time, the studio is working with Carpenter on a new version. Let’s just hope the Blumhouse luck carries over and the studio can turn “The Thing” into a worthy reboot.