In an interesting bit of news from our friends over at Bloody Disgusting, it seems that director Matthijs van Heijningen is going to be helming the often talked about prequel to John Carpenter's remake of The Thing. Though this news is still being considered rumor due to the lack of an official confirmation, it is fact that the film is moving ahead at Strike and Universal Pictures.

Heijningen, who is also attached to direct Army of the Dead for Zack Snyder's Strike Entertainment, is pushing to make the lead character in his prequel the brother of R.J. Macready, a character originally played by Kurt Russell. Bloody Disgusting offer this synopsis:

In the screenplay by Ronald D. Moore, the prequel takes place from the Norwegian camp's point of view. An American scientific expedition to the frozen wastes of the Antarctic is interrupted by a group of seemingly mad Norwegians pursuing and shooting a dog. 
The helicopter pursuing the dog crashes leaving no explanation for the chase. 
During the night, the dog mutates and attacks other dogs in the cage, along with members of the team that investigate. The team soon realizes that an alien life-form with the ability to take over bodies is on the loose and they don't know who may already have been taken over.

The film is expected to be released sometime in 2010. We will have more news as it breaks in the very near future.