Survival Evolved Director Says Devs Were “Talked Under The Table” By Super Fan Vin Diesel

Highlights

Vin Diesel’s role in ARK 2 isn’t just for show, he’s a genuine fan of Ark: Survival Evolved, impressing the game’s director with his knowledge.
Fans were surprised by Diesel’s appearance in the announcement trailer for ARK 2, but he had previously praised Survival Evolved as “the best game.”
Ark: The Animated Series boasts a star-studded cast, featuring the likes of Elliot Page, Karl Urban, David Tennant, and more.

Vin Diesel isn’t just appearing in ARK 2 for the paycheck, he’s actually a massive fan of the original game, Ark: Survival Evolved. So much so, that the game’s director has said that the Hollywood actor “talked them under the table” when they met with him for the first time.

Fans were shocked to see Diesel appear in the announcement trailer for ARK 2 back in 2020, with more Fast and Furious jokes in the replies than there are films. But what many didn’t know is that Vin Diesel is a massive fan of the Ark franchise. The actor had previously posted on Instagram (via ScreenRant) that “the best game out right now is Ark: Survival Evolved.”

Ark: The Animated Series Director Explains Decision To Not Create 1:1 Adaptation

In a new interview, director Jeremy Stieglitz explains why The Animated Series differed from aspects of the game.

Given that Diesel is set to be the lead protagonist in ARK 2, which is currently targeting a late 2024 release date, you’d expect him to say that. Turns out, the Fast and Furious actor actually knows so much about the game that he was out-Ark’ing the game’s creators.

Ark: The Animated Series Director Talks Star-Studded Cast

In a new interview with our sister site GameRant, Ark: The Animated Series director Jeremy Stieglitz (who was also a director and developer for Ark: Survival Evolved) discussed the process of how the team brought together such a star-studded line-up for the recently released series.

For those who might be unaware, Part 1 of Ark: The Animated Series was recently released on Paramount Plus with some incredibly popular actors. Karl Urban, David Tennant, Jeffrey Wright, Gerard Butler, Michelle Yeoh, and Elliot Page are just some of the actors who lent their voices to Ark: The Animated Series’ characters.

When discussing the show’s cast, Stieglitz noted that one actor in particular was a massive Ark: Survival Evolved fan.

“One who was definitely a fan, bigger than us– the developers even–because he was telling us about bugs and issues with the game, some of them being things we were unaware of, was Vin Diesel. He reached out and we went to meet him. And then all night he talked us under the table [laughs.] Some people say, “drink under the table,” we got “talked under the table” about Ark: Survival Evolved by Vin Diesel! So, we thought, ‘OK, we have to do something with him.’ Vin was already an immense fan, and was immediately keen on it because he knew the game so well, probably better than we did in some ways, and loved it.”

As to how Ark: The Animated Series managed to bag so many famous actors, Stieglitz explained that while they did have names in mind for specific characters (Mei-Yin being one example, as she was specifically written for Michelle Yeoh), it was largely due to the pandemic as to why so many actors agreed to take the job.

“One of the reasons we got so many of those actors was due to the pandemic. That certainly wasn’t a fun time for anybody. Lots of people were stuck at home with nothing to do, including major Hollywood talent . And voice acting for this project seemed like a good way to help get through that. So that was definitely a factor.”

If you want to read more about Ark: The Animated Series’ creation process, check out the full interview over on GameRant.