While there are convincing arguments that Palmer was the original, most fans subscribe to the idea that Norris was the first to die. His character is one of the least seen in the movie but is conveniently one of the first to appear every time some major event happens.
Cundey suggested that throughout the film a specific light gleam can be seen in the eyes of whichever body is currently inhabiting the alien. A light gleam can be seen in Childs' eyes in the final scene, which would mean he's infected with the Thing under Cundey's theory.
The most popular and plausible theory is that Blair was attacked by Norris while being locked in the closet—shortly before or after Fuchs was killed. This has been called into question as the door was locked when MacReady checked on Blair, meaning the Thing would have re-locked itself inside the cabin.
When brought to the main room, Edvard violently transforms into the Thing, infects Jonas, kills Jameson, and assimilates Adam to become Split Face. Kate burns Jonas and Jameson before they can fully transform, then she and Carter burn Split Face before pursuing Sander, who had been assimilated.
Bennings is assimilated by Splitface thing. Bennings thing is burned. Blair is assimilated when he was in the tool shed, most likely by having his food sabatoged. Fuchs fate is left unknown, if he commited suicide or if Blair killed him.
Rock-Like Physiology: As a result of being directly exposed to cosmic radiation, Ben has been transformed into an orange-colored, rock-like humanoid that gives him a high degree of invulnerability. One test performed on him showed his internal organs had also been affected, becoming rock-like as well.
The revelation came as Carpenter was asked about comments made by Dean Cundey, who served as cinematographer on The Thing. Cundey said that there was a specific lighting in the eyes of human characters. Using this logic, it would appear that MacReady is still human but Childs isn't.
While there are convincing arguments that Palmer was the original, most fans subscribe to the idea that Norris was the first to die. His character is one of the least seen in the movie but is conveniently one of the first to appear every time some major event happens.
For decades, audiences have wondered whether or not Childs was human in the movie's ending, but it is not certain that either one of them is human. The film tells the story of twelve people stationed at an Antarctic research station who make contact with a malicious alien creature that they call the Thing.
Trivia. It is likely that Juliette was attacked and assimilated by Griggs in the bathroom and that the fillings and the blood in the shower belong to her. This is the first and so far only female Thing in both films.
After sleeping with Chuck (The Wrong Goodbye) and Louis (multiple times over the summer), Blair isn't sure who the father of the baby is. After encouragement from Dan and Dorota, she gets a paternity test done and finds out it is Louis' baby (The Jewel of Denial).
Though she insists that she is in love with Louis, Blair begins to seek Chuck out as the season progresses. The two eventually declare their love for each other prior to a car accident in her limousine while being chased by paparazzi. Though both recover, Blair suffers a miscarriage from the crash.
Louis admits he feels she's further away than ever, and Blair confesses that her real secret is that she's converting to Catholicism so they can be married in the church. They leave to go celebrate with everyone else.
The final scene of the 2011 version even leads directly into the opening shots of 1982's The Thing. As predicted, the vast majority of the prequel's characters are dead by the time credits roll, though Winstead's Kate has managed to (at least temporarily) stop the monster from escaping Antarctica in its spaceship.
For example, in the blood test scene, the Palmer-Thing is tied up arm-to-arm alongside Garry. Yet the blood test proves Garry is still human and he is later assimilated for his troubles. Instead it's far more plausible that Norris was the one first assimilated during the dog encounter.
After some destruction, both Gary and Nauls are killed by The Thing, but MacReady seemingly manages to take out the threat with a series of massive explosions. After finding any kind of cover from the explosions and cold, MacReady finds himself toe-to-toe with Childs, who'd gone missing a bit earlier.
The most terrifying aspect of the iconic horror creature The Thing is that nobody knows what it looks like or has seen its true form. The extraterrestrial's entire existence is based on assimilating and replicating the appearance of other organisms, so it's difficult to determine exactly what its original form is.
The blood supply would have had to be destroyed shortly before Blair was taken to the tool shed so it had to be when Blair was destroying the radio. Therefore Palmer was most likely The Thing that sabotaged the blood supply.
MacReady returns in the 2002 video game sequel to The Thing to assist the U.S. Rescue Team investigating Outpost 31 in destroying The Thing. MacReady's survival is never explained, though the game is set 3 months after the events at Outpost 31.
After designs for the creature were completed, the film's crew estimated that they would need around $750,000 for the effects, which Universal agreed to. The effects were designed by Rob Bottin, except for the Thing's dog form, which was designed by Stan Winston.
MacReady, Garry, and Nauls agree that the Thing cannot be allowed to escape and set explosives to destroy the station, but the Blair-Thing kills Garry, and Nauls disappears.
The most debated aspect of The Thing concerns its two survivors, MacReady and Childs. The events of the film see every other person in Antarctic Outpost 31 killed, and the horror movie's final survivors are left in the impossible — but practically inevitable — situation where neither man knows if the other is infected.
So they set explosives to destroy the station, but the Blair-Thing kills Garry, and Nauls disappears. Blair-Thing transforms into an enormous creature and breaks the detonator, but MacReady triggers the explosives with a stick of dynamite, destroying the station and the monster.
The movie's ending is famously ambiguous, with Kurt Russell's MacReady and Keith David's Childs the only two men left alive. It's left up to viewers to decide whether the alien lives on in one of them.
In fact, legend has it that the ”shadow on the wall” scene was originally shot using Palmer's actor David Clennon, but his silhouette was deemed too distinct so Carpenter did the scene with a crewman instead.
