Seth MacFarlane’s Ted movies are a pair of fan-favorite R-rated comedies that both made a ton of money at the box office, but will Ted 3 ever get made? The original Ted film marked MacFarlane’s feature-length directorial debut and put a fresh spin on the bromantic comedy formula. It tells the familiar story of an immature man-child, John Bennett (Mark Wahlberg), who has to choose between committing to a meaningful relationship with the woman he loves and goofing off with his best friend, the titular sentient teddy bear (MacFarlane).
Ted was the highest-grossing comedy film of 2012, with a worldwide haul of over $549 million (via Box Office Mojo). The sequel, Ted 2, in which Ted appears in court to fight for his civil rights, earned a smaller but still impressive gross of more than $217 million (via The Numbers). Given the continued success of the franchise, making Ted 3 would seem like a no-brainer. But in the years since Ted 2 hit theaters, there hasn’t been much movement on a threequel. Is MacFarlane ever going to make Ted 3?
Ted 3 Latest News
A couple of months after Ted 2 arrived in theaters and became a box office hit, MacFarlane was asked about the possibility of Ted 3 in an interview with Today. While he said that Ted 3 wasn’t in the works, he didn’t rule it out. MacFarlane said that he and his team “don’t know” if Universal wants to make Ted 3, but added that “it’s possible there will be another one.” He said, “I like to kind of have some space between Ted [movies],” indicating that there would be a long wait if Ted 3 does get made, and clarified that “there are no immediate plans” for a third film.
Speculation about a possible Ted 3 resumed in September 2021, when Seth MacFarlane posted an Instagram photo of the stuffed bear used in the Ted movies on Instagram with the caption: “The original Ted stuffy mentally preparing for his return.” This tease of Ted’s on-screen return was initially believed to be a veiled confirmation that Ted 3 was going into production, or that it was at least in the works. However, the post was more likely a reference to the upcoming Ted TV series, which hadn’t yet been announced at the time.
The Ted streaming series is in development at Peacock, with MacFarlane serving as the show’s creator, writer, director, and executive producer in addition to reprising one of his funniest roles as Ted. The show takes place in 1993, after the opening sequence of the first movie, when a young John Bennett first wished for Ted to come to life. This series will explore the early days of Ted’s sentience as he lives with John and his family in Massachusetts and becomes a celebrity. Ted’s TV show might be the closest thing fans get to a third movie.
Ted 3 Not Confirmed
Unlike other Universal sequels like M3GAN 2.0, Despicable Me 4, and Fast & Furious 11, Ted 3 hasn’t been officially confirmed to be in the works. Given that MacFarlane is preoccupied with the Ted TV series, it’ll probably be a few years before Ted 3 gets made, if ever. If he has any ideas for future storylines with the character, they’ll likely be incorporated into the TV show instead of a new film. Ultimately, sequels are dictated by commercial prospects. If the TV series is a huge hit and revitalizes interest in the franchise, then Universal might be eager to get to work on a third movie.
Ted 3 Release Date Info
Since Ted 3 hasn’t been officially greenlit, it doesn’t have a confirmed release date. But it is possible to speculate on when Ted 3 could be released if it is to be produced. Wahlberg wouldn’t be able to star in Ted 3 until he’s done filming Arthur the King, Our Man from Jersey, and The Family Plan, which will take at least a year. MacFarlane hasn’t appeared in a movie since 2017’s Logan Lucky, but his commitments to Family Guy, American Dad!, and The Orville keep him busy. He probably hasn’t had time to start writing Ted 3, so he’ll need a few months to complete a script before filming.
The production cycle of a potential Ted 3 can be gauged by how long it took for Ted 2 to get made. Wahlberg confirmed that the sequel was in development in a January 2013 interview on Anderson Live. Ted 2 was ultimately released about two-and-a-half years later in June 2015. Ted movies take a lot longer than the average R-rated comedy to produce, because the title character is created entirely with CGI. Even if the Ted threequel was announced in mid-2023, the earliest that it would be ready for release is late 2025, more than a decade after Ted 2 was released.
Ted 3 Cast
There’s no confirmed cast list for Ted 3, since the movie isn’t officially in the works as of yet, but if a threequel did get made, MacFarlane would be expected to reprise the titular role. Wahlberg would also be expected to return as Ted’s best friend, John, and Giovanni Ribisi could come back as the series’ recurring villain, Donny, an obsessive Ted fan who stalks him. Patrick Stewart narrated both Ted and Ted 2, and he’s a regular collaborator of MacFarlane’s, so he would probably return to narrate Ted 3.
It’s unlikely that Mila Kunis would return as John’s original love interest, Lori Collins, since Kunis didn’t come back for Ted 2. She was replaced by Amanda Seyfried as Samantha L. Jackson, who started dating John at the end of Ted 2, setting them up for a relationship arc in Ted 3. If Seyfried was unavailable for Ted 3, then Kunis could come back for a reunion between John and Lori. The Ted 3 cast would surely add some fresh faces to the ensemble, too. Ted 2 brought in such iconic actors as Morgan Freeman, John Slattery, Dennis Haysbert, and a cameoing Liam Neeson.
Ted 3 Story Details
Although MacFarlane is open to the possibility of making Ted 3, he hasn’t announced a plot synopsis for the potential threequel. However, there are a couple of setups at the end of Ted 2 that could lead into storylines in Ted 3. After finally being granted the rights of a human being, Ted and his wife Tami-Lynn adopted a baby boy and named him Apollo Creed. Ted 3 could see Ted adapting to the struggles of fatherhood as he raises his son. Ted 2 doesn’t confirm if Ted’s job and bank account are reinstated, so Ted 3 could revolve around his search for a new career.
Alternatively, Ted 3 could use the scrapped storyline that MacFarlane initially conceived for Ted 2. In an interview with Collider, MacFarlane explained that the original script for Ted 2 saw Ted and John smuggling a shipment of marijuana across the country. However, in the middle of the writing process, We’re the Millers came out with a nearly identical plot (minus the talking teddy bear) and MacFarlane had to scrap the idea and start from scratch. Now that We’re the Millers is in the rearview mirror, MacFarlane could revisit this concept in Ted 3.
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