Ending Finally Revealed? 43 Years Later, The Thing Director Drops a Major Hint
It's been 43 years since the release of the sci-fi horror film The Thing, yet its ending remains a topic of fan debate. Recently, during a special 4K screening of the movie in Los Angeles, director John Carpenter unexpectedly revealed that there's a "giant hint" in the middle of the film about who turns into the monster at the end.
As is well known, the film's ending doesn't explicitly reveal which of the two surviving characters is inhabited by the alien creature. Some fans still believe that the monster became Childs, played by Keith David.
However, independent director Joe Russo recently proposed a very intriguing theory that the monster was actually the main character MacReady, portrayed by Kurt Russell.
He pointed out that at the end of the film, MacReady shares alcohol with Childs, despite the earlier warning that no one should share food or drinks as it could lead to infection. Russo argues that this indicates MacReady had already become the monster, and it was his victory over the last threat. Furthermore, he also noted the final line MacReady says to Childs. In the film, he suggests they just wait a bit and see what happens, despite the threat of freezing to death.
It always seemed strange this beat never paid off, BUT… Despite being given this warning, what does Mac do at the end? Knowing the cells will spread, Mac shares his bottle of liquor with Childs because… MACREADY IS THE THING. "But we saw Mac kill The Thing!" OR… did you watch a BETTER imitation kill a POORER imitation because it had a better chance of infiltrating society upon rescue?
After all, it’s Mac who suggests and runs the blood test — and we never do see him cut his own finger... Did he use blood from the sabotaged blood bank to cheat his own test? Sure seems that way.
Some fans agreed with this theory, while others remain skeptical, believing that Childs became the creature.
John Carpenter himself has yet to confirm or deny this theory, joking that he would reveal the truth only for "a certain amount of money in an envelope sent to his address." He also mentioned that even the actors didn't know who would become the creature, as it could imitate anyone.
They had to play it human, you see. The creature imitates perfectly. It could be one of us, it could be somebody in the audience, and there’s no way of telling. So I knew, they didn’t know.
As a reminder, last year marked the release of The Thing: Remastered, a game set after the events depicted in the 1982 film.
Who do you think became the creature in the finale of The Thing
