Universal making 'The Thing' prequel

Universal Pictures is developing a prequel to John Carpenter's 1982 horror The Thing.

According to Variety, the film will be set in a Norwegian research camp and will follow the first discovery of the shape-shifting alien and how it overcame the camp's inhabitants.

Battlestar Galactica executive producer Ron Moore has been hired to write the re-imagining. It will reportedly be inspired by John W. Campbell Jr.'s original short story Who Goes There, which influenced Carpenter's film and Howard Hawks's original The Thing From Another World.

Matthijs Van Heijningen will direct the project, with Eric Newman and Marc Abraham producing and David Foster executive producing.

Van Heijningen is predominantly known for directing commercials, helming adverts for companies including Toyota, Pepsi and Visa. He is also developing Army Of The Dead for Warner Brothers.