download.jpg

ARK: The Animated Series, an upcoming show based on the video games ARK: Survival Evolved and ARK II, will feature a star-studded voice cast including Vin Diesel, Elliot Page and Russell Crowe. ARK: Survival Evolved is an action-adventure survival game developed by Studio Wildcard which released in 2017. The game received fairly average reviews, but the title's creators Jeremy Stieglitz and Jesse Rapczak are looking to greatly expand the franchise.

The very first trailer for ARK II, featuring actor Vin Diesel, premiered recently at the 2020 Game Awards live show. The trailer is entirely cinematic, meaning that the title's gameplay is still a complete mystery, but it does show Vin Diesel leading a tribe through a dense jungle before clashing with another tribe. This suggests that mechanics from the first ARK, such as establishing a tribe and cooperating to survive, will remain an important aspect of the sequel. The story-driven trailer also suggests that the game may have an actual narrative, rather than being a nonlinear sandbox-like its predecessor.

The ARK: Survival Evolved YouTube channel recently posted an extended trailer for ARK: The Animated Series, which reveals the series' impressive list of celebrity voice actors. Vin Diesel will be reprising his role as Santiago from ARK II, and big names such as Devery Jacobs, Gerard Butler, Malcolm McDowell, Elliot Page, David Tennant, Karl Urban, Michelle Yeoh and Russell Crowe will also be lending their voices to the show. The animated series is being handled by the game's creators, Jeremy Stieglitz and Jesse Rapczak, and it will premiere in 2022.

While ARK: Survival Evolved didn't have much in the way of plot, the game's creators seem determined to flesh out the intriguing world that the original title created. From what's already been shown of Vin Diesel's ARK II character, Santiago, he is a tribal leader who is fiercely protective of his young daughter. The game's premier trailer ends with Santiago discovering a hoard of sci-fi technology, suggesting that this mash-up of prehistoric monsters and futuristic tech will be emphasized in the upcoming sequel. ARK II will also release as an exclusive on Xbox Series X/S, which means that Studio Wildcard may have a much higher budget to work with this time courtesy of Microsoft.

ARK: Survival Evolved is a bit of a niche game, offering open-world dinosaur survival and cooperation between members of an adoptive tribe. However, ARK II and ARK: The Animated Series seem to be targeting a much larger audience than just fans of the first game. By pulling in big-name actors like Vin Diesel and Elliot Page, while also teaming up with Microsoft for an exclusive launch, ARK II will likely catch the eye of a whole new range of gamers.

ARK II and ARK: The Animated Series will be released in 2022.