Casting news from The Thing prequel

Authenticity seems to be the order of the day on the set of The Thing prequel.

Anyone worried by the thought of Norwegian scientists being played by a bunch of American actors saying 'ja' may breathe a sigh of relief - the latest casting news from Matthijs van Heijningen Jr's project suggests there may well be some actual Norwegians involved.

The 13th Warrior ’s Dennis Storhoi, The Fros t’s Trond Espen Seim and Svik ’s Jordan Langhelle are all onboard along with Stig Henrik Hoff, Jan Gunnar Roise, Kristofer Hivju and Jo Adrian Haavind. For the record, spell check now hates us.

It was revealed a few weeks ago that the film would star Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Joel Edgerton. Rumours of Winstead’s Scandinavian heritage are as yet unconfirmed.

Screenwriter Ronald Moore has described the movie as a companion piece to John Carpenter's film rather than a remake, and has said that the prequel will tell the story of the Norwegian crew that uncovered the alien.

The plot will run right up to the beginning of the 1982 version, ending just before the Thing makes contact with R.J MacCready (Kurt Russell) and co at the American station.

Rumourmill chatter also abounds that van Heijningen Jr wants to link the two films by making MacCready's brother the focus of the movie.

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