Gamers who tuned into the seventh annual Game Awards Thursday evening found a surprisingly familiar face pop up in the world premiere cinematic trailer for Studio Wildcard’s upcoming action-adventure game “ARK II.”
Vin Diesel is the star in this continuation of the “ARK: Survival Evolved” franchise, and he plays Santiago, a war chief who’s not afraid to go toe-to-toe with prehistoric creatures to protect his clan.
Wildcard Studios confirmed Diesel’s casting on Twitter after the trailer aired. The studio is also releasing a limited animated series further exploring the backstory of its game character Helena, which will premiere sometime soon and star a totally stacked cast, including Diesel, David Tennant, Gerard Butler, Russell Crowe, Elliot Page and Juliet Mills.
In the cinematic clip, Diesel’s Santiago is leading his clan through the forest when an angry T-Rex shows up and starts snacking on his fellow travelers. Santiago wastes no time defending his people, smacking around some Orc-looking dinosaurs with his tomahawk before putting a spear straight through the T-Rex’s neck. Santiago then escapes down a narrow shaft, carrying his kid, who gleefully blows a raspberry in the raging dinosaur’s face.
“ARK II” doesn’t have a release date yet, but Studio Wildcard said it will share more information about the upcoming title later this week.
This isn’t the first video game Diesel has lent his image and acting talents to — he played Richard B. Riddick in the 2007 game “Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena.” He also played himself in the 2009 “Fast and Furious”-inspired game “Wheelman.”
Fans on Twitter were quick to express their excitement about the game — and, of course, to make memes about it. “‘Fast and Furious 9’ looks wild, dinosaurs and everything,” one fan joked.
Check out the cinematic trailer above, and see some reactions to it below.
World Premiere of ARK II! A brutal new world of primitive survival! Continue @survivetheark's story of humankind's evolution in this next-generation sandbox survival experience! ? #ARK2 #TheGameAwards pic.twitter.com/W8iHpLkOWf
— The Game Awards (@thegameawards) December 11, 2020
Is that… who we think it is!? #TheGameAwards pic.twitter.com/gjai5Kljf7
— The Game Awards (@thegameawards) December 11, 2020
Proud to announce, tonight at the TGA’s:
? ARK II starring Vin Diesel as Santiago
? ARK: The Animated Series exploring Helena’s story
Catch the Official hi-rez ARK II trailer rendered in-engine using game assets, and an extended Animated Series trailer, tomorrow A.M!
— ARK: Survival Evolved (@survivetheark) December 11, 2020
Man, the new Fast & Furious movie looks great! #TheGameAwards2020 pic.twitter.com/0pLC325lXQ
— Pat (@RPG__Nut) December 11, 2020
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