Shout! Factory Postpones the Upcoming Blu-ray Release of ‘The Thing’

Well, here’s a bummer. If you’re one of the many who are looking forward to getting your hands on Shout! Factory’s Deluxe, or Collector’s Edition Blu-ray of John Carpenter’s The Thing, you’re going to be waiting a bit longer than anticipated.

This lovely little message landed in my inbox today, and it won’t leave you feeling warm and cozy inside:

Due to unexpected audio track issues, we have decided to postpone the national street date of this release until October 11, 2016, so that we can correct the problem and present the best possible product for you. We apologize for the delay and thank you for your understanding in the matter.

Your pre-order for this title will remain open. Deluxe Edition orders will still ship to arrive three weeks ahead of the national street date – by September 20, 2016. Collector’s Edition orders will still ship to arrive two weeks ahead of the national street date – by September 27, 2016.

It’s always good to know that Shout! cares enough about their work to make the hard decisions, but it doesn’t make the delay any less grating!

The classic feature stars Kurt Russell, Wilford Brimley, Keith David, T.K. Carter, David Clennon, Richard Dysart, Charles Hallahan, Peter Maloney, Peter Maloney, Richard Masur, Donald Moffat, Joel Polis and Thomas G. Waites.

Synopsis: A US research station, Antarctica, early-winter 1982. The base is suddenly buzzed and attacked by a helicopter from the nearby Norwegian research station. They appeared to be trying to kill one of the dogs from the US base. Having dealt with the threat, the members of the US team fly to the Norwegian base, only to discover them all dead or missing. They do find the remains of a strange creature the Norwegians burned. The Americans take it to their base and deduce that it an alien life form. After a while it is apparent that the alien can take over and assimilate into other life forms, including humans, and can spread like a virus. This means that anyone at the base could be inhabited by The Thing, and tensions escalate…