NECA kicked off the fun when they celebrated Kurt Russell‘s birthday with the reveal of an “Ultimate” action figure of the actor’s character from John Carpenter’s sci-fi horror masterpiece, The Thing.

In the 1982 film, a shape-shifting alien looks for someplace warm to hide and assumes the appearance of its victims – including that of a kennel of Norwegian dogs, Alaskan Malamutes which become a blob of revolting, slimy, and straight-up horrifying flesh.

As part of their Toy Fair reveals this past spring, NECA announced the addition of the monster mutt to their The Thing toy line also sharing the first look at a work-in-progress of the dog, which will be available in two forms.

Now, at the San Diego Comic-Con, NECA has the full prototype on display, which includes two various stages of the dog’s transformation.

Years back, SOTA Toys had added John Carpenter’s The Thing to their “Now Playing” line with a box set featuring MacReady and the film’s dog monster.

McFarlane Toys also made figures from The Thing as part of their “Movie Maniacs” line, but they only got around to making “Norris Creature” and “Blair Monster.”

Toys based on the movie have been announced by other companies more recently, but they were unfortunately canceled. Needless to say, it’s a big deal that NECA now has the license.

Photo source: Toy Ark

Lots of horror on display by @NECA_TOYS at #SDCC2022. Includes #UniversalMonsters, #TheThing, #TheMunsters, Toony Terrors, #Predator & more: https://t.co/onDkQt0U9P pic.twitter.com/7pJSbdPrn6

— The Toyark (@Toyark) July 21, 2022