The ever-prolific writer, producer, voice actor, and divisive funnyman Seth MacFarlane made the successful jump to the silver screen last year with Ted. Profitable and well-received enough to warrant an upcoming sequel, Ted has paved the way for MacFarlane to branch out into more eclectic films – namely, his planned comedic western A Million Ways to Die in the West.

A genre farce written, directed, and starring MacFarlane himself, A Million Ways to Die apparently concerns a sheepherder whose fiancée leaves him when he proves too cowardly to follow through on a duel. The distraught herder falls in with the wife of an infamous gunslinger, who agrees to teach him how to survive in the rough and mythic West. Already well on its way to casting its leads, it looks as if A Million Ways to Die in the West has begun the process of roping in the embarrassed girlfriend, whose departure kicks off the sheepherder's quest for redemption.

The Hollywood Reporter asserts that MacFarlane has approached Amanda Seyfried for A Million Ways to Die in the West. If she accepts the offer, Seyfried will join a production that so far includes Charlize Theron (Young Adult) and MacFarlane in the lead roles. According to this report, Seyfried is being offered the role of the MacFarlane's ex-girlfriend.

One might question whether Seyfried is up to the task of taking on a role in one of MacFarlane's famously raucous screenplays. After all, much of Seyfried's work has been in somewhat understated dramatic material. However – and oddly enough – this would not be the first time MacFarlane and Seyfried have worked together – she voiced a small role in an episode of MaFarlane's American Dad! in 2008.

A Million Ways to Die in the West Seth MacFarlane
Seth MacFarlane will write, direct, and star in 'A Million Ways to Die in the West.'

While not a guaranteed box office draw, Seyfried's most recent work in Les Misérables and the upcoming biopic Lovelace has drawn more-than-decent marks. Without knowing the exact content of her role in A Million Ways to Die in the West, it's impossible to know just how well she'll tackle the material. The screenplay could play to her strengths and portray her as a waifish straight-woman; or, given MacFarlane's penchant for subversion, could just as easily make the character an outsized caricature - something Seyfried hasn't really played since her scene-stealing turn as a ditzy, cousin-kissing teen queen in the 2004 film, Mean Girls. This early in production on A Million Ways to Die... almost anything is possible.

A Million Ways to Die in the West will ride out of the sun and into cinemas in the Summer of 2014.

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Source: The Hollywood Reporter