I’m not as opposed to a prequel to John Carpenter’s “The Thing” as much as I expected to be. For one, Carpenter’s film was in a remake in itself, but more so, a prequel is so much better than the alternative, right? (And quite frankly, I’m surprised Universal haven’t gone that route).

And who’ll be filling the void of Kurt Russell this time ‘round? None other than an Aussie! Oi! Oi! Oi! Nope, not Sam Worthington – he’s too busy, Joel Edgerton’s actually snagged himself the male lead. Not too shabby for a former “Secret Life of Us” star, hey!?

It’s the second time Edgerton’s worked with Universal (the first being “Smokin’ Aces”) but it has been a long time between drinks for Hollywood and Edgerton, with many predicting he’d ‘done a Guy Pearce and returned home’. I’d say the acclaimed reviews “The Square”, directed by Nash Edgerton and featuring a bravura performance by Joel, is chalking up in the states right now (it’s finally getting a release this year over there), didn’t hurt when it came to Uni deciding whether or not to handball the role over to Edgerton.

Joining Edgerton in the flick is… someone with a better pair of legs than Keith David! Yes, that is possible! Mary Elizabeth Winstead (“Make it Happen”, “Grindhouse”) has won the honor of being lead lass billed.

And hell, if I wasn’t interested in seeing the film before (for the record, I was. Mostly) I definitely am now.

Winstead will be playing 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.”

Matthijs Van Heijningen’s prequel lenses next month.

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