There’s One Horror Franchise That Desperately Needs Another Sequel (And A Lot of Fans Agree)

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John Carpenter’s Halloween is famous for launching a huge film series, but it wasn’t the only one of his movies to inspire further films. While most of his other works led to remakes rather than direct sequels, Assault on Precinct 13 and The Fog both received remakes in 2005 – though one was well-received and the other wasn’t. Escape from New York did get a sequel, Escape from L.A., directed by Carpenter himself, but its poor performance likely explains why he never directed another sequel. Of course, there’s also his acclaimed film, The Thing.

While it wasn’t a hit when it first came out in 1982, The Thing is now celebrated as one of the greatest horror films of all time – and possibly one of the best movies, period. The 2011 prequel, despite a strong performance from Mary Elizabeth Winstead, didn’t live up to the original. What we really need now is a continuation of the 1982 classic that truly honors its reputation.

How the Prequel Emphasizes Just How Much We Need a Sequel

There’s a chance we might see a sequel to The Thing. At a 2023 event called Texas Frightmare Weekend, director John Carpenter hinted at a possible Thing 2, saying he’s been asked to keep details secret, though he isn’t sure if it will actually happen.

It seems like talks about this have started, but a lot needs to happen to make it worthwhile. Ideally, John Carpenter would direct, but that’s probably not realistic.

Look, the biggest problem here – and one they could easily avoid, unlike the previous attempt – is how they handle the special effects. Honestly, if they rely heavily on CGI, they shouldn’t bother at all. Even if the effects from the 2011 movie had been good when they came out – which, let’s be real, they weren’t – they would look dated pretty quickly. But Rob Bottin’s work on the original? That stuff still holds up. It’s wonderfully immersive, and, yeah, sometimes wonderfully disgusting, even today.

A sequel to The Thing has a clear jumping-off point: the discovery of MacReady and Childs’ bodies. While this would remove some of the mystery from the original film’s ambiguous ending—which was brilliantly done—it would be a logical place to begin a new story. The key is that a sequel is definitely possible, and it would be even better if John Carpenter were involved, as he wasn’t with the 2011 prequel.

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2025-10-22 16:41