I wouldn't hold my breath for this year though, there's not a lot of talk among Universal Creative team about The Thing coming back. Maybe in a few years, but I doubt it for this year, and I just don't see that way.
I'm not aware it was the sequel to the 1982 film, as it's never been made before nor explicitly stated as such, so it would confuse the audience if it is. Even so, I don't agree with Universal Studios with having one, as the Thing might be too similar to the one used for the prequel in 2011, even if it's explicitly from the 1982 film. I don't think John Murdy is really uppity about The Thing for 2018 as there isn't as much enthusiasm from them about the maze. We have Stranger Things, AHS (before the Disney/Fox deal might be approved or not), Conjuring, IT, Alien (Not Alien vs Predator thing, and before the Disney/Fox might be approved or not), certain Blumhouse movies (Get Out, Split, etc), all which have never used before for HHN. Maybe we should focus on that before we could consider the Thing, so to make room for potentials for the new, never-before-used HHN mazes.