After the $500 million success of Ted, many have wondered what Seth MacFarlane would make next – or indeed if he’d disappear back to television for a few years. Now THR reports that he’s plotting his follow-up, a period western called A Million Ways to Die in the West, which he will both direct and star in.
The Western comedy is set during the 1800s, exploring how dangerous and difficult life was back on the frontier in that time. Unsurprisingly, it is said to be in the same vein as Blazing Saddles, using contemporary humour in a period setting.
MacFarlane is writing the screenplay with Ted co-scripters Alec Sulkin and Wellesley Wild. It’s reportedly chock full of the racy humour that MacFarlane is known for. The hunt is now on for a female lead.
Media Rights Capital, which financed Ted, will finance and produce, along with Scott Stuber. MacFarlane hopes to shoot next summer. He’s also got a sequel to Ted in the works, although that’s still in the early stages of development.