StudioADI has uploaded a new behind the scenes video when they were working on The Thing and in it, they show what happens in the alternate ending to the film, which depicts an alien pilot to the discovered spacecraft. If you still haven’t seen the film, do not keep reading, spoilers ahead obviously. But anyway, according to the description, here’s how the alt. ending would’ve gone down:
The scripted ending to The Thing (2011) featured Kate inside the spacecraft, discovering the mummified remains of the pilot who first brought the craft to Earth, unleashing the Thing. A second pilot, still alive, attacks just as it mutates into a Thing version of itself. Shot but ultimately discarded in favor of a different direction, it gave us a great opportunity to design and build a unique alien life form and then push it into Thing territory when it changes. A full size animatronic/rod puppet provided physical elements on stage with a planned CG counterpart to flesh out the action. Watch The Thing Tom Woodruff Jr On Fire to see fire elements that were shot for what would have been the death of the CG pilot! All that burnin’ and nothing to do with it…
So bummed we couldn’t see this alternate version in the film, much less any of the amazing other practical effects they’d done at the time.