As the anticipation for his sophomore film effort builds, Seth McFarlane reunites with Universal to co-write, direct, produce and star in A Million Ways to Die in the West. The studio has just recently come aboard to finance and distribute the western, but it isn’t exactly a risky bid for them, after McFarlane’s big screen debut Ted, starring Mark Wahlberg opposite an animated potty-mouthed teddy bear, became an international smash success and grossed $549 million worldwide. Obviously Hollywood is impressed with McFarlane’s work on Ted, as well as the animated series Family Guy and American Dad! because the writer managed to score some extremely coveted actors to fill the cast of Ways to Die. The list includes Charlize Theron, Liam Neeson, Amanda Seyfried, Sarah Silverman and Giovanni Ribisi.

According to Reuters, via Yahoo News, the film will tell the story of a sheep farmer named Albert. And no, the exact premise isn’t known yet, but we mostly have faith in McFarlane’s ability to make this vastly unappealing premise somehow interesting. Plus, a lot of the creators of Ted – notably, producers Scott Stuber and Jason Clark and co-writers Wellesley Wild and Alec Sulkin – have been drafted in to work on this, so, barring some inevitable for this team crude jokes and cheap laughs, A Million Ways To Die In The West sounds like a pretty promising production. The film is due to be released on May 30, 2014 across American theatres. And for those of you eagerly awaiting Ted 2, do not fret – that’s almost inevitable in the future too, as Universal has bought the rights to both films.

Seth McFarlane, HBO Golden Globes Party
McFarlane is gearing up to prove that his first big screen success wasn't just a fluke.