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Universal’s The Thing prequel now has an official release date. According  Box Office Mojo, the film is slated for a April 29th, 2011 release. Matthijs van Heijningen, Jr. is directing from a screenplay by Eric Heisserer and Ronald D. Moore.

The cast for the flick includes Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Joel Edgerton, Jonathan Walker, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Dennis Storhøi, Trond Espen Seim, Jørgen Langhelle, Eric Christian Olsen, Stig Henrik Hoff, Jan Gunnar Røise, Kristofer Hivju, and Jo Adrian Haavind.

Synopsis: A Ph.D. candidate (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) joins a Norwegian research team in Antarctica after it discovers an alien ship in the ice. When a trapped organism is freed and begins a series of attacks, she is forced to team with a blue-collar mercenary helicopter pilot (Joel Edgerton) to stop the rampage.

The first bit of casting for the prequel to Jon Carpenter’s classic, The Thing, has hit the web via THR’s Heat Vision.

Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Grindhouse, Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World) and Joel Edgerton (The Secret Life of Us, Kinky Boots) will star in “The Thing.” The film is inspired by the events at the beginning of the 1982 version where remaining members of the Norweigan team are trying desperately to kill a runaway dog that has been infected with the organism.

Winstead will play a Ph.D. candidate who joins a Norwegian research team in Antarctica after it discovers an alien ship in the ice. When a trapped organism is freed and begins a series of attacks, she is forced to team with a blue-collar mercenary helicopter pilot (Edgerton) to stop the rampage.

The film is set for a March 15, 2010 start date in Toronto, Canada. Matthijs Van Heijningen is directing the film, which was written by Ronald D. Moore and Eric Heisserer.

Universal Pictures’ prequel to John Carpenter’s classic thriller ‘The Thing,’ is due to begin filming March and continue till June in Toronto.

The film is to be directed by Matthijs van Heijningen, Jr. from a screenplay by Battlestar Galactica exec. producer Ronald D. Moore and Eric Heisserer (Platinum Dunes’ ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’ ).

The prequel is said to be an earlier story about the mutation that attacks the Norwegian base from Carpenter’s movie.

We will bring you more info on this exciting film as it becomes available!

Source: Production Weekly

Artist Tylet Stout's take on 'The Thing'

Universal has hired Battlestar Galactica executive producer Ronald Moore to write a prequel to John Carpenter’s classic 1982 sci-fi horror movie The Thing, Variety reported, confirming an earlier scoop by Bloody-Disgusting.com.

Moore will write the script, and commercials director Matthijs Van Heijningen will direct the re-imagining. The new project reportedly borrows heavily from the John W. Campbell Jr. short story “Who Goes There,” the basis of the Carpenter film and the 1951 Howard Hawks original movie The Thing From Another World.

The prequel is set in a Norwegian camp and chronicles how the shape-shifting alien was first discovered and overcame the inhabitants of that camp.

On a related note, check out artist Tyler Stout’s official site for his amazing posters for some of the greatest films ever made. Join his mailing list for the latest updates on his works as they become available!