Seth MacFarlane on how We’re the Miller’s ruined his original plan for Ted 2

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Tomorrow brings the release of Seth MacFarlane's TED 2, but the version we'll be seeing in theaters won't be the one MacFarlane originally had in mind. Over the course of an interview with The New York Times, Seth MacFarlane revealed that his original plan for the TED sequel contained a drastically different plot-line, but unfortunately the release of WE'RE THE MILLERS forced MacFarlane to scrap his original idea.

The original idea had Ted and John driving a pot shipment across the country. It was sort of a “Smokey and the Bandit” kind of thing. We were in the midst of writing that and “We’re the Millers” came out, which essentially was the same story. We had to throw away what we had.

In search of a new plot, Seth MacFarlane found inspiration in reading about the Dred Scott v. Sandford decision while shooting A MILLION WAYS TO DIE IN THE WEST:

I was shooting “A Million Ways to Die in the West” at the time and reading the John Jakes Civil War series on the side. There was a whole passage about Dred Scott. I thought, what a weird, great idea for Ted in 2015 to have to go to court and prove that he’s a person. That was the genesis. Only with a character like Ted in the modern era can you tell a story like this.

TED 2 opens on June 26, 2015 (that's tomorrow) and so far the reviews haven't been quite as kind as they were for the first film. You can check out Chris Bumbray's thoughts on the film right here. As an added bonus, Seth MacFarlane dissected the opening dance sequence of TED 2 for the Times, which makes me wish I could dance…and sing…and write…and…walk without tripping. I've got problems.