At first, RETROGRADE was both a sequel to John Carpenter's THE THING and a remake of AURORA (Kulikowski's first feature). Dolph's character was originally conceived as bad guy or at least an antihero and was rewrote as a heroic lead. There is an underground DIRECTOR'S CUT version of the film that is way better than the official release (that was re- and re-edited by Franchise and The Carousel Picture Company).