Alan Tudyk

LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) Steven Spielberg’s epic TNT limited series "Into the West" is beginning its multigenerational cast with a trio of young actors. The $50 million series will utilize an ensemble cast to tell a story of the opening of the American West. Alan Tudyk, Skeet Ulrich and Matthew Settle are close to signing on to play a group of brothers who move West from Virginia, but take different paths towards their Manifest Destiny.

The series, which will unfold over 12 episodes, will premiere in six two-hour episodes next summer, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Titled, fittingly, "Into the West," it will look at Westward expansion in the 19th century through the eyes of one family of white settlers and one family of Native Americans.

Spielberg ("The Terminal," "Taken") will executive produce for DreamWorks TV. Settle was part of the ensemble cast of Spielberg’s HBO WW2 epic "Band of Brothers" and recently appeared in the telefilm "The Mystery of Natalie Wood," playing Warren Beatty. His feature credits include "The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood" and "U-571."

Ulrich is best known for his killer role in Wes Craven’s "Scream," but the actors has a core of television fans thanks to his work on the short-lived cult series ABC’s "Miracles."

Tudyk may also be most familiar from a cancelled-too-soon television classic, Joss Whedon’s "Firefly." He can be seen on the big screen in "Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story" and will move on to "Serenity" with the rest of the "Firefly" cast.