Movies
What Might A Practical ‘The Thing’ Prequel Have Looked Like?
People have a lot of understandable beef with The Thing prequel. Fragmented story, Eric Christian Olsen and CGI. Mainly the CGI.
Last month I interviewed Eric Heisserer, one of the film’s screenwriters, and he was very forthright that the film was originally intended to be all practical. “I got this job going in with the firm, fervid belief that no CGI should ever be in this movie. That it should be all practical. We are creating a very grounded psychological thriller and part of that paranoia with the monster movie is to have the monsters as real and as grounded as everything else we’re making around them”
And now some new images of the practical work by Vincent Guastini, some dating back to when The Thing prequel was a SyFy Channel product under the tutelage of Frank Darabont (before it changed hands to Strike Entertainment/Universal), has gone online.
Per Make Up Mag, “Vincent Guastini’s special make-up effects credits include Requiem for a Dream, Dogma and Saturday Night Live; he also contributed to the recent prequel of The Thing, although you wouldn’t know it from watching the film.
Guastini, who describes himself as “a huge fan of The Thing mythos” says he was contacted in 2004 when the Syfy channel was considering an episodic version of The Thing, and later, a made-for-TV feature version penned by Frank Darabont…
Over time, however, concepts for the film and Guastini’s original ideas and designs ultimately weren’t used in the film. So here is your chance to see Guastini’s concept designs and sculptures for the first time.”
Hit the jump to check a few out! More images available at Make Up Mag!
After kicking off with a limited theatrical run in May, James Cameron’s Terminator 2: Judgment Day is returning to the big screen in 4K, RealD 3D and premium formats next month.
To mark the 35th anniversary, Terminator 2: Judgment Day will open in U.S. theaters August 28 through September 2, 2026, along with a range of late August/early September premiere dates worldwide to commemorate T2’s “Judgment Day” on August 29 via STUDIOCANAL, Fathom Entertainment and Rialto Pictures.
Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Edward Furlong, and Robert Patrick star in the four-time Oscar Winner that sees a reprogrammed T-800 sent back in time to protect 10-year-old John Connor from the shape-shifting T-1000. Together with his mother Sarah, the cybernetic organism fights to stop Skynet from triggering a nuclear apocalypse.
The re-release comes with a new anniversary trailer, below.
WORLDWIDE RELEASE DATES CALENDAR – TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY 35th ANNIVERSARY
- August 27, 2026: Germany, LATAM, Czech Republic
- August 28, 2026: United States, Italy, Poland
- AUGUST 29, 2026: JUDGMENT DAY
- September 2, 2026: France
- September 3, 2026: Australia, New Zealand, The Netherlands, Sweden, Hungary
- September 4, 2026: United Kingdom
James Cameron comments, “T2 was made for theatres, and our lovingly-prepared 3D version, coming back to the big screen, is the absolute best way to see the film. I believe it’s safe to do spoilers after 35 years, so SPOILER ALERT: the good guys win against the AI superintelligence! And maybe that’s a message of hope we all could use this summer.”
Anna Marsh CEO of STUDIOCANAL, Chief Content Officer of CANAL+ expands, “We are incredibly proud to mark the 35th anniversary of James Cameron’s masterpiece Terminator 2: Judgment Day in partnership with the passionate teams at Fathom Entertainment and Rialto Pictures in the US. This collaboration has been thrilling, and we cannot wait for audiences to mark Judgment Day in theatres all over the world this August. The continued restoration and discovery of classic and revolutionary cinema is the cornerstone of our strategy and it’s particularly gratifying to see the scale of this celebratory re-release come to fruition.”
Ray Nutt, Chief Executive Officer for Fathom Entertainment adds, “Terminator 2: Judgment Day was a cultural phenomenon in the U.S. upon release and 35 years later, remains a timeless, non-stop thrill ride that audiences – new and old – will love to see. With non-stop action, iconic performances from Arnold Scwarzenegger and Linda Hamilton, spectacular sound and visual effects, and even a massive hit song by Guns N’ Roses (“You Could Be Mine”), the re-release of T2 is a must-see theatrical event perfect for 3D and other premium formats.”
Tickets in the United States for Terminator 2: Judgment Day 35th Anniversary will be available online on July 17 and at participating theatre box offices (theatre locations are subject to change). For more information, and to be among the first notified when tickets go on sale, please visit Fathom Entertainment.
Cameron is currently developing a seventh Terminator film.