There has been no official sequel to “The Thing” for over 40 years. However, a non-official sequel called “The Thing Returns” was released in 2021, directed by Rui Constantino.
The film follows a team investigating the destruction of a McMurdo station and the discovery of two dead bodies in the ice.
John Carpenter has suggested that a sequel to “The Thing” could solve some of the biggest unresolved story beats from the original movie, including the possibility that the alien escaped from the Arctic base. However, some fans argue that there is no need for a sequel to “The Thing.”
I have not seen The Thing Returns (2021) so I can’t comment on it one way or another................
Of COURSE there needs to be (should have been) a sequel, Carpenter left it open at the end of his version of the story. Two guys left, neither sure if the other was human.. both left to freeze to death.. and both know, if it hasn’t been destroyed, it could wait another 1 or 10 million years to be rethawed to continue... (or even 1, or the other, was The Thing.. to do the same).
BTW, I don’t think I have ever looked into a movie as much as I did this one.
It will be tough for anyone to match, or at least be on the same page as, John Carpenter.