John Carpenter says every fan theory about the ending of The Thing is wrong, and that the answer is hiding in plain sight.
Fans have debated the ending of The Thing for over four decades. Is MacReady the Thing? Is Childs the Thing? Both of them? Neither?
People have their own theories, some of which are way more plausible than others. Apparently, they’re all wrong. I’m wrong. You’re wrong. We’re all wrong.
Personally, I think John Carpenter just likes playing around with people. He gets asked about the ending of The Thing ALL the time, and I imagine it gets old. Him riling people up by saying they’re wrong is fun, and it gets people talking about the movie again. If that can build up enough momentum then maybe a studio will decide to make another The Thing movie. And if that happens, John gets another payday, just like he gets a payday every time a Halloween movie is made, which he has stated several times over the years that he is more than okay with.
Really though, it doesn’t matter who the Thing is at the end of the movie. It’s better not knowing, because that’s the entire point. It’s more haunting and effective if we don’t know.
