It appears that Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane has plotted his feature film follow-up to Ted.  MacFarlane made his feature directorial debut with the live-action/CG comedy Ted this summer to wildly successful results, with the film grossing a little over $500 million in its theatrical run.  MacFarlane now has a bit of clout in choosing his next project, and it appears that he’s going an original Western comedy that he co-wrote with Ted/Family Guy writers Alec Sulkin and Wellesley Wild called A Million Ways to Die in the West.  Hit the jump for more. 

Per Heat Vision, MacFarlane plans to direct and star in the live-action film, which is said to be in the vein of Blazing Saddles.  The pic is described as “a Western with contemporary humor, with one undercurrent being just how dangerous and painful life really was in the late 1800s.”  It’s not surprising that MacFarlane is going with an original property as his Ted follow-up, but I do find it interesting that he also plans to star in the live-action film.  He technically “starred” in Ted, as he voiced the titular bear and performed the role using motion-capture technology, but this would be his first time in front of the camera without some sort of animation driving his character [Edit: I was unaware that MacFarlane has a bit of on-camera acting experience, as he's appeared in 2010's Tooth Fairy and a couple of episodes of Gilmore Girls].

MacFarlane drew fairly strong marks for his hosting duties on Saturday Night Live and is poised to host the upcoming 85th Academy Awards, so he'll certainly have plenty of practice as a showman.  Media Rights Capital, the company behind Ted, is also behind this feature and Ted producer Scott Stuber is boarding the project as well.  A Ted sequel continues to be in the works, but it appears that MacFarlane is keen on doing A Million Ways to Die in the West next.  Production is expected to get underway in summer 2013, and the script also involves a female lead that has yet to be cast.