"The Thing" Again

I'm incredibly distressed by this confusing prequel, which nevertheless takes on the same name as John Carpenter's horror-relic, "The Thing".
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So this new version will apparently follow the Norwegian expedition who the Americans (Kurt Russell) stumbled upon at the beginning of the '82 version, the ones who couldn't aim trying to shoot that dog from a helicopter.
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My problems are really two-fold. One, Carpenter's film is in no way in need of a fresh coat of paint. It has aged like a fine wine, it's a horror classic, perfect the way it is. Two, if this is indeed a prequel and not a remake, why does it look like the exact same film? Okay, Mary Elizabeth Winstead is now in the Kurt Russell role, but other than that, what's to differentiate this version from Carpenters? CGI? 
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I'm protesting.