Seth MacFarlane had a massive mountain to climb in 2014. Coming off the gargantuan, R-rated success of Ted, everyone expected him to just hit another home run. He didn't just want a sequel; he wanted a Western. When the A Million Ways to Die in the West trailer first dropped, it felt like a weird, foul-mouthed fever dream that somehow combined the grit of Unforgiven with the slapstick of Family Guy. Honestly, looking back at that three-minute Red Band teaser today, it’s a fascinating time capsule of a specific era in comedy that we don't really see in theaters anymore.
Westerns are notoriously hard to sell. Ask any studio executive. They’ll tell you it’s a "dead" genre until someone like Taylor Sheridan or Quentin Tarantino proves them wrong for a weekend. MacFarlane took a different route. He leaned into the absolute misery of living in 1882. The trailer didn't focus on the romance or the gunfights—at least not at first. It focused on how everything in the frontier was actively trying to kill you.
The Marketing Magic Behind the A Million Ways to Die in the West Trailer
The first time you saw the A Million Ways to Die in the West trailer, you probably noticed the tonal whiplash. It starts with gorgeous, sweeping vistas of Monument Valley. It looks like a John Ford masterpiece. Then, a guy gets crushed by a giant block of ice.
That was the hook.
Universal Pictures knew they had to sell MacFarlane as a leading man, which was a gamble. Before this, he was the voice of a cartoon dog and a foul-mouthed teddy bear. Putting his actual face on the poster next to Charlize Theron and Liam Neeson was a bold move. The trailer had to do the heavy lifting of proving he could carry a live-action film. It relied heavily on the "Red Band" format—meaning it was uncensored. In the mid-2010s, Red Band trailers were the secret sauce for R-rated comedies. They allowed the marketing team to show the "shattering doctor" scene and the various gruesome deaths that gave the movie its title.
The trailer also cleverly used Liam Neeson. At that point, Neeson was in full Taken mode. Seeing him play a deadly serious villain in a movie where a sheep pees on the protagonist’s face was a stroke of comedic genius. It promised a subversion of the genre. You weren't just getting a parody like Blazing Saddles; you were getting a modern, cynical take on the historical reality of the American West.
Why the "Everything is Dead" Montage Worked
Comedy trailers usually fail when they show all the best jokes in the first sixty seconds. This trailer was different. It built a rhythmic montage of mortality.
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- The doctor getting shot.
- The runaway fairground attraction.
- The giant ice block accident.
- The flash-fire at the photography studio.
By the time the title card flashed, the audience understood the premise: the West isn't romantic. It's a deathtrap. This was a direct response to the "gritty" reboot trend of the time. While movies like True Grit (2010) showed the West as harsh and somber, MacFarlane’s trailer showed it as harsh and hilarious. It used anachronistic dialogue—basically characters talking like they’re from 2014 Los Angeles while wearing spurs—to create a sense of relatability.
Comparing the Teaser to the Final Product
Movies often change between the first trailer and the theatrical release. With the A Million Ways to Die in the West trailer, what you saw was pretty much what you got, for better or worse. Some critics argued the trailer was actually tighter than the movie itself. The film runs about 116 minutes, which is long for a comedy. The trailer, however, condensed that energy into a relentless barrage of gags.
The chemistry between Seth MacFarlane and Charlize Theron was the biggest surprise. Theron, coming off intense roles, seemed like she was having the time of her life. The trailer highlighted her as the "straight man" to MacFarlane’s neurotic Albert. It’s a classic dynamic. Albert is a sheep farmer who hates the West; Anna is a mysterious gunslinger who teaches him how to survive it.
There’s a specific shot in the trailer of Neil Patrick Harris’s character, Foy, engaging in a "Moustache Song" dance number. It felt out of place to some, but it signaled that this wasn't just a raunchy comedy—it was a variety show. MacFarlane’s love for musical theater is well-documented, and the trailer didn't shy away from that quirkiness.
The Musical Score and Visual Scale
One thing people often overlook about the trailer is the music. Joel McNeely composed a score that sounds like it belongs in a $200 million epic. It’s sweeping, brassy, and heroic. When you pair that with the vulgarity of the dialogue, it creates a "prestige comedy" vibe.
The cinematography by Michael Barrett also looked incredible. They shot on location in New Mexico. The trailer made sure to show off those wide-angle shots. It didn't look like a cheap sitcom set. It looked like a real movie. This contrast—high-end production value versus low-brow humor—is why the trailer stayed in people's minds. It felt "big."
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What We Can Learn from the Trailer's Impact
Looking back, the A Million Ways to Die in the West trailer serves as a masterclass in "brand extension." MacFarlane was already a titan of television. This trailer was the bridge to him becoming a recognizable movie star. Even though the film received mixed reviews from critics—scoring around a 33% on Rotten Tomatoes—it still found a cult following on streaming and home video.
The trailer’s success was rooted in its honesty. It didn't pretend to be a deep, philosophical exploration of the human condition. It promised farts, gunfights, and a star-studded cast behaving badly. Sometimes, that’s exactly what the box office needs.
It's also worth noting the cameos. The trailer teased just enough to make you wonder who else would show up. Seeing Christopher Lloyd reprise his role as Doc Brown (in a brief, blink-and-you-miss-it moment) sent the internet into a frenzy. It was a localized "Easter Egg" before every movie became an Easter Egg hunt.
Actionable Takeaways for Comedy Fans and Creators
If you’re revisiting this era of cinema or looking at how to market a creative project, there are a few things to keep in mind regarding this specific trailer’s strategy.
Watch the "Red Band" vs. "Green Band" differences. If you go back and watch both versions of the trailer today, you’ll see how the edit changes the timing of the jokes. The Red Band version relies on shock, while the Green Band version relies on situational irony. It's a great study in how editing changes the "soul" of a comedy.
Identify the "High Concept" Hook. The reason this trailer went viral was the simplicity of the title and the premise. You can explain the whole movie in five words: "The West is super dangerous." If you’re a creator, find that one-sentence hook that anyone can understand.
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Don't ignore the technicals. Part of why the trailer worked was because it looked expensive. If you’re making a parody, the more "real" the environment looks, the funnier the absurdity becomes. The high-quality lighting and authentic costumes made the crude jokes land harder because of the juxtaposition.
Analyze the pacing. Notice how the trailer uses "micro-silences." A joke is told, there’s a half-second beat of silence for it to sink in, and then the orchestral music swells back in. That’s professional comedic timing in the editing bay.
The legacy of the A Million Ways to Die in the West trailer isn't just about the movie it promoted. It’s about a moment in Hollywood where a creator was given a massive budget to make something weird, specific, and unapologetically himself. Whether you love the film or hate it, you can't deny that the trailer did exactly what it was supposed to do: it got people talking about the dangers of 1882 in a way they never had before.
If you want to see how comedy marketing has evolved, go watch the 2014 teaser and then watch a trailer for a modern streaming comedy. You’ll notice the 2014 version is much more cinematic. It treats the jokes like events. That’s a lost art in the age of "content" where everything feels like it was made for a phone screen.
Next Steps for Enthusiasts:
Search for the "International Trailer" specifically. It contains several alternate takes of the "death" scenes that didn't make it into the final US theatrical cut. Comparing these variations gives you a behind-the-scenes look at how MacFarlane tinkered with the punchlines during the post-production process. You can also look up the "Behind the Scenes" featurette on the New Mexico locations to see how they recreated the town of Old Stump from scratch. It’s a lot more practical effects work than you’d expect for a comedy.