John Carpenter is back in Chicago today, and apparently he brought a little news with him from Antarctica.
The legendary director appeared at FAN EXPO Chicago on Friday, Aug. 14, where a fan asked the question that has followed Carpenter for decades: could we ever see another chapter of THE THING? Carpenter’s answer was short, but it was enough to immediately get horror fans talking.
“We’re working on it now.” Carpenter then added, “Yeah, I don’t know. We’ll see.”
That second part is important. Nobody should start carving a release date into a block of ice just yet because Carpenter has not announced that THE THING 2 has officially been greenlit, nor has he confirmed that a screenplay is finished or that he will direct it. “Working on it” can mean a lot of things in Hollywood, from a script being developed to producers and studios having conversations about whether the project can actually move forward. For now, Carpenter has given fans something considerably more interesting than another flat “no,” but there is still a long road between an idea and a finished movie.
The timing of the comment is particularly interesting because Carpenter has been dropping hints about another THE THING for years. This is not the first time he has told fans that something is happening behind the scenes, and he previously used almost the exact same wording during a 2025 Fan Expo appearance when asked about a sequel. Carpenter has also said in the past that he has been sworn to secrecy when questioned about another film, keeping the possibility alive without ever giving fans enough information to know exactly what is being developed.
What makes today’s appearance even more interesting is who else is at FAN EXPO Chicago this weekend. Carpenter is appearing alongside Kurt Russell, who is making his first ever convention appearance, and the convention’s official schedule even lists a joint Kurt Russell and John Carpenter appearance. Russell, of course, played R.J. MacReady in Carpenter’s 1982 film, making the timing almost too perfect for fans who have spent 44 years wondering what happened to the character after those final moments at Outpost 31.
That ending remains one of horror’s greatest unanswered questions. MacReady and Childs, played by Keith David, sit together outside the destroyed research station as the Antarctic cold closes in around them. The Thing has been destroyed, the base is burning and both men are exhausted, but neither knows whether the person sitting across from him is actually human. Carpenter has spoken about the ending numerous times over the years and has indicated that, in his view, MacReady and Childs were still alive when the credits rolled.
That leaves plenty of room for a sequel, although Carpenter has never said that a new film would necessarily begin with those two characters. The original movie was based on John W. Campbell Jr.’s 1938 novella Who Goes There?, and Carpenter’s version has spent decades developing a mythology of its own. The Antarctic station, the alien organism and the uncertainty surrounding the survivors have become so ingrained in horror culture that simply mentioning the possibility of returning to that world is enough to send fans digging back through every interview Carpenter has ever given.
And Carpenter knows exactly what fans want from him.
He has not directed a feature film since THE WARD in 2010, meaning it has now been more than 15 years since he last sat in the director’s chair for a feature. While Carpenter has remained active through music, graphic novels, interviews, and his involvement with projects connected to his work, fans have repeatedly asked him to return to filmmaking. A new THE THING would obviously be the dream scenario for anyone who grew up with his movies, particularly if Carpenter himself decided that this was the project that would bring him back.
The idea also opens the door to the kind of practical creature work that made the 1982 film so unforgettable. Rob Bottin’s effects remain some of the most grotesque and inventive work ever seen in a horror movie, and Carpenter’s decision to surround his cast with increasingly horrifying transformations helped create an atmosphere where nobody could trust what they were seeing. A modern sequel could have access to technology that Bottin never had, but the challenge would be maintaining the physical, disgusting quality that made Carpenter’s film feel so tangible.
The franchise has continued without Carpenter in the years since. The 2002 video game expanded the story following the destruction of Outpost 31, while the 2011 film traveled backward to tell the story of the Norwegian researchers who encountered the organism before the events of Carpenter’s movie. Neither became the direct cinematic continuation that fans have been waiting for, and previous attempts to develop another THE THING project have failed to make it to the screen.
That is why we need to keep Carpenter’s latest comments in perspective. Right now, we do not know what is being worked on.
If THE THING is finally that project, the possibilities are obvious. MacReady could return, the story could finally address what happened after Outpost 31, or Carpenter could take the franchise somewhere completely unexpected. There is also the question of whether the filmmaker would once again rely heavily on practical effects, something that helped make his original movie such a landmark in body horror.
For now, all we have is Carpenter’s answer from today’s FAN EXPO Chicago appearance.
“We’re working on it now.”
After years of speculation, that’s enough to put THE THING back on the radar.
And with John Carpenter and Kurt Russell both in Chicago this weekend, we’re certainly going to be paying attention to what comes next.