Scary Dad
A new take on 30’s novella “Who Goes There?”, penned by John W. Campbell Jr, is headed to the screen.
Famously turned into a film twice – via “The Thing From Another World” (1951) and “The Thing” (1982) – the yarn fixes on a snow-bound creature that jumps into different bodies.
As Bloody Disgusting reports, the story was first published in the August 1938 issue of Astounding Science Fiction, and an expanded, never-before-seen version was recently unearthed. In 2018, John Betancourt said a novel-length version of the classic novella was in the works, and he took to Kickstarter to finance it. He would call it “Frozen Hell”.
“In 1938, acclaimed science fiction author John W. Campbell published the novella Who Goes There?, about a team of scientists in Antarctica who discover and are terrorized by a monstrous, shape-shifting alien entity. The story would later be adapted into John Carpenter’s iconic movie The Thing (following an earlier film adaptation in 1951). The published novella was actually an abridged version of Campbell’s original story, called Frozen Hell, which had to be shortened for publication. The Frozen Hell manuscript remained unknown and unpublished for decades, and it was only recently rediscovered.”
This week, a very exciting update from Alan Donnes :
“It’s OFFICIAL! I received my signed contract and first check! I am Executive Producing a remake of THE THING but with additional chapters of John Campbell’s groundbreaking novel, Frozen Hell, that had been lost for decades.
Now, for the first time ever, Campbell’s full vision will be realized on the big screen. The new film will include the very best of RKO’s THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD, John Carpenter’s classic THE THING and both books, Frozen Hell and Who Goes There?”
Betancourt adds, “He doesn’t say it, but movie will be from Universal and Blumhouse. Everyone is super excited about it, and it’s being fast-tracked.
This is just the tip of the iceberg of what’s going on with Who Goes There?, Frozen Hell, and The Thing in Hollywood. I can’t talk about the rest yet, but it’s very exciting — and if all goes as planned, the Thing will be alive and well for quite a while.”
The last version of “The Thing” was a prequel to the 1982 movie, starring Joel Edgerton and Mary Elizabeth Winstead.
Meantime, a reboot of ‘90s creature-feature “Anaconda” is in the works at Sony’s Columbia Pictures.
Evan Daugherty, writer of “Tomb Raider”, has been tapped to pen the script.
The 1997 film, which featured Jennifer Lopez, Jon Voight, Ice Cube and Eric Stoltz, followed a documentary film crew in the Amazon that comes across an obsessed hunter looking to find a legendary anaconda. The hunter derails the expedition for his own purpose, with the filmmakers now forced to contend with a murderous madman and a giant snake that will squeeze the life out of them and swallow them for good measure.
The film wasn’t a critical hit but it did well enough financially to warrant three direct-to-video sequels.
The new film is described as a “reimagining” as opposed to a remake or sequel.
