The Thing Prequel Defrosting!

Back in September, I announced that Mark Abraham is producing a prequel to the 1982 classic horror film "The Thing" and today Variety reports that Universal is heating things up with the project. The studio has announced that Matthijs van Heijningen Jr. will be directing the prequel that will lead up to the events of the original Jon Carpenter masterpiece.

Ron Moore has been lined up to pen the script, while director Matthijs van Hejningen will be making his shift from commerical directing into film. Van Hejningen, who in the past has only directed commericals for companies like Pepsi and Toyota and a short film called "Red Rain," is currently in pre-production on "Army of the Dead" for producer Zack Snyder. Making the prequel to "The Thing" his next project after Snyder written and produced zombie flick.

As reported in September, Variety confirms the prequel will folow the events that led up to the original film. For those of you who have not seen the 1982 classic, an American research team finds a rival Norwegian team slaughtered by a shape shifting alien. The prequel will chronicle the Norwegian teams run-in with the deadly alien.

A prequel to "The Thing" has a ton of potential, but one thing that worries me, is the updated look the film will no doubtly have. The original was completely filmed without computer graphics, but the update most likely will. Gone are the days of puppeteer work and creating movie magic with props, everything nowdays is done in CG and this prequel may hinge on just how well the effects team pulls off the look of the alien.

What say you? Are you excited for a prequel to The Thing? Should Kurt Russell make a small cameo? Should CG be utlilzed or make it like the original? Strikeback...