Mark Wahlberg boosts Ted 3 hopes with upbeat update
Mark Wahlberg has stoked hopes for Ted 3 with a fresh update — though Universal’s still keeping schtum.
If you thought Ted was buried, well, Mark Wahlberg has just lobbed a hint that Universal might not be finished with the foul-mouthed bear after all. For a franchise that peaked at toilets, thunder buddies, and absurd box office numbers, the latest word is surprisingly upbeat – provided you ignore the official silence from Universal’s direction.
You know, Seth MacFarlane does Family Guy and all that stuff. He's the creator of Ted. So, we may come back with the third. We may come back.
That’s Wahlberg himself, mulling things over in a YouTube clip with streamer N3on during a session grandly titled 'N3on Survives Mark Wahlberg’s 4 AM Morning Routine' (yes, really). Wahlberg confirmed he’s at least busy with the Ted animated series, but also made it clear a third film isn’t off the table. Universal aren’t saying a word yet, but let’s be honest – the fan appetite for another ride hardly dried up after Ted 2 dropped back in 2015.
It really is up to Peacock with their, you know, vast amounts of big Scrooge McDuck money that they dive into every day.
That gem comes straight from Seth MacFarlane in a Deadline interview, putting the power firmly in Peacock’s hands. In practice? Nobody’s writing off another season of the prequel, or a full-blown feature, or both – this lot aren’t shy about keeping doors open as long as the cash keeps coming in.
The State of the Franchise
Ted made an eye-watering $549.4 million worldwide when it crashed into cinemas in 2012. Ted 2 wasn’t quite the juggernaut, but still found $216 million. Mark Wahlberg has always played John Bennett, the slightly sad-sack mate to MacFarlane’s aggressively indecent teddy bear. MacFarlane’s written, directed, voiced, and produced his way through both films – and when Hollywood moved on, he didn’t: instead, we got the Ted prequel series on Peacock, set in the nineties, with Max Burkholder as teenage John.
- The Ted prequel show is now into its second season, which started streaming on 5 March 2026.
- The original films’ creative team are still loosely circling the property.
- No official green light yet for Ted 3 – but it’s firmly in the 'not dead, just resting' category.