We are living in the age of remakes, reboots, and legacy sequels, and given the popularity of John Carpenter’s The Thing, this could be the next classic horror film to be given a modern update. Inspired by the John W. Campbell book Who Goes There?, the film was the second adaptation to be made following 1951’s The Thing from Another World. The 1982 movie was given a prequel in the form of the 2011 film also called The Thing, and while rumors of a direct sequel have persisted for years, such a film has yet to make its way out of development hell.
In a recent interview with MovieMaker, Carpenter explained where he stands on those rumors of The Thing getting a new sequel. He can’t say for sure if the potential film will ever happen, but notes if he happens to get an offer to direct The Thing 2, then he wouldn’t turn it down.
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As for why he’s not taking the charge himself to make The Thing 2, or any other movies in the immediate future, it’s because the experience of filmmaking seems daunting for Carpenter at this stage of his life. He admits he still has plenty of movie ideas he’d theoretically love to pursue, knowing he’ll never get around to doing any of it. John Carpenter adds that he’s been getting so much enjoyment out of focusing on music that it makes it even harder to take on the pressure of directing another feature film.
John Carpenter Prefers Making Music Over Movies
As it stands, Carpenter hasn’t gotten behind the camera to direct a movie since 2010’s The Ward, a psychological horror film starring Amber Heard. He hasn’t officially retired from filmmaking, as he has teased he’d be open to doing the right project, such as a movie based on Dead Space. The problem is that working on big-budget films adds a lot of pressure that makes if more difficult to enjoy the experience, making it feel more like grueling work.
Carpenter also says in the interview how he was happy to focus on making music for the newer Halloween films while letting David Gordon Green handle the directorial duties. In fact, Carpenter was not even on set for Halloween Kills or Halloween Ends, but he did enjoy the films, despite the controversy they’ve had.
