Featuring Unprecedented Voice Cast, Including Gerard Butler, Michelle Yeoh, Madeleine Madden, Elliot Page, David Tennant, Jeffrey Wright, With Russell Crowe and Vin Diesel
Origin Story of the Hit Dinosaur Survival Adventure Executive Produced by Acclaimed Animation Director Jay Oliva and Created by Jeremy Stieglitz and Jesse Rapczak
HOLLYWOOD, CA - Dec. 11, 2020 - Studio Wildcard has partnered with acclaimed director Jay Oliva (Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox) to executive produce and co-showrun an original animated television series based on the hit video game ARK: Survival Evolved.
Created and executive produced by the game’s creators Jeremy Stieglitz and Jesse Rapczak, ARK: The Animated Series is composed of fourteen 30-minute episodes and has two seasons currently in production in anticipation of a 2022 launch. Lead writers Marguerite Bennett and Kendall Deacon Davis have written the scripts for ARK: The Animated Series, which features an extraordinary voice cast, including Gerard Butler (300), Michelle Yeoh (Crazy Rich Asians), Devery Jacobs (American Gods), Madeleine Madden (The Wheel of Time), Deborah Mailman (Total Control), Zahn McClarnon (Doctor Sleep), Malcolm McDowell (A Clockwork Orange), Elliot Page (The Umbrella Academy), Ragga Ragnars (Vikings), David Tennant (Good Omens), Karl Urban (The Boys), Jeffrey Wright (Westworld), and Russell Crowe (Gladiator).
Studio Wildcard announced last night that Vin Diesel has joined the company as President of Creative Convergence and will act as executive producer of both “ARK II” and “ARK: The Animated Series.” Diesel will also lend his voice talents as Santiago, a fully rendered hero protagonist, who will cross over from the newly announced video game sequel to the animated television series.
From cutting-edge animation studio Lex + Otis and with music composed by Gareth Coker (Ori and the Will of the Wisps), ARK: The Animated Series chronicles the story of a mysterious primeval land populated by dinosaurs and other extinct creatures, where people from throughout human history have been resurrected. When 21st century Australian paleontologist Helena Walker awakes on the ARK after tragedy, she must learn to survive and find new allies, or die again at the hands of ruthless warlords -- all while trying to uncover the true nature of their strange new world.
Access the new extended cut of the teaser trailer for the show HERE:
Key artwork, poster image, and other assets are available HERE: dropbox.com/sh/4ru1b40i9wvb5pp/AADg8CLcoW8UrysiXL6K1lRQa?dl=0
ARK: The Animated Series is fully funded and coming to market in 2022. ARK: The Animated Series is represented by Creative Artists Agency (CAA).
Jeremy Stieglitz Quote: “Being able to mix together fantastic characters from throughout human history is one of the unique joys of telling stories within the ARK universe. But more than that, this series is a deeply personal narrative about love and grief, and the ways in which those two most-powerful emotions manifest in different people. Plus, of course, taming and riding dinosaurs!”
Jesse Rapczak Quote: “With ARK, we’ve always looked for new ways to tell the story. The animated series brings together some of the most talented directors, actors, and animators out there to finally depict on-screen this franchise’s epic narrative.”
In June 2015, ARK: Survival Evolved launched onto Steam’s Early Access program and since that time has amassed more than 35 million players worldwide across all gaming platforms, spurning spin-off games and gathering a huge following of passionate fans. Studio Wildcard announced last night that it is developing a sequel “ARK II” for next-gen platforms that will debut alongside the animated television series in 2022.
ARK: The Animated Series voice talent and character descriptions, in alphabetical order:
Gerard Butler plays General Gaius Marcellus Nerva, a brutal ancient Roman despot.
Devery Jacobs plays Alasie, a peppy 17th century Inuit teenager, now finding her place on the ARK.
Cissy Jones plays The Gladiatrix, a formidable commander in Nerva's army.
Madeleine Madden plays 21st century Australian paleontologist Helena Walker, newly awoken on the ARK.
Deborah Mailman plays Deborah Walker, a 21st century Aboriginal Australian activist, and mother to Helena Walker.
Zahn McClarnon plays Thunder Comes Charging, a 19th century Lakota warrior who leads a thriving community on the ARK.
Malcolm McDowell plays Senator Lucius Cassius Virilis, a manipulative aristocrat during the reign of Caesar Augustus.
Juliet Mills plays Chava, a wise healer and village councilmember.
Elliot Page plays Victoria Walker, an idealistic humanitarian aid worker, and wife of Helena Walker.
Ragga Ragnars plays Queen Sigrid, a bellicose 10th century Viking warlord.
David Tennant plays Sir Edmund Rockwell, an egocentric 19th century scientist harboring dark ambitions.
Alan Tudyk plays The Captain, a crusty buccaneer who profitably sails the dangerous waters around the ARK.
Karl Urban plays Bob, a recent square-jawed ARK arrival.
Jeffrey Wright plays Henry Townsend, an 18th century American watchmaker and Patriot spy.
Michelle Yeoh plays Meiyin Li, a 3rd century Chinese rebel leader, known on the ARK by her reputation as the formidable “Beast Queen.”
Ron Yuan plays Han Li, a 3rd century Chinese rebel leader and brother to Meiyin.
With Russell Crowe playing Kor the Prophet, an eccentric ‘dino-whisperer’ hailing from a time before recorded history.
And Vin Diesel playing 24th century ‘Mek’-pilot, gearhead, & freedom-fighter Santiago.
BIO FOR VIN DIESEL
Native New Yorker Vin Diesel is a prominent actor, producer and filmmaker who is most widely known as the patriarch in the Fast and Furious film series, in which he stars and produces. The record-breaking eighth installment has had the largest international release of all time, grossing over $1.2 billion worldwide. His other film franchises include: Richard B. Riddick in the Chronicles of Riddick series and Xander Cage in the xXx, series as well as the voice of Groot in the Guardians of the Galaxy films and Avengers: Infinity Wars.
BIO FOR JAY OLIVA
An animation industry veteran since 1996, Oliva has directed a dozen animated films for both Marvel and DC, including The Dark Knight Returns and the acclaimed Young Justice series. In 2012, Oliva was recruited by Zack Snyder to storyboard the DC Cinematic Universe, beginning with Man Of Steel. In 2018, Oliva founded Lex + Otis as an independent, artist-driven TV and film animation studio. He is currently the showrunner for multiple animated series, including Trese and Army Of The Dead.
BIO FOR JEREMY STIEGLITZ AND JESSE RAPCZAK
Since revealing their original game in 2015, game creators Stieglitz and Rapczak have worked tirelessly together to bring their dinosaur-filled vision to the masses. With 35 million players worldwide, the two have coordinated an amazing amount of new content and leveraged cutting-edge technology to keep fans engaged and wanting more ARK.
BIO FOR MARGUERITE BENNETT
Bennett is an American comic book writer. She has worked on Batwoman, DC’s Bombshells, Batman, Supergirl, Batgirl, Josie and the Pussycats, and her creator-owned books InSeXts and Animosity. Her work has been recognized for her depiction of female relationships, her representation of LGBTQ stories and characters, earning nominations for a GLAAD Media Award in both 2016 and 2017.
BIO FOR KENDALL DEACON DAVIS
Davis is the head writer for Lex + Otis, and oversees all internal story development and script writing for the studio. He started his career as a narrative designer on Microsoft’s Halo 4 then went on to design some of the highest rated episodes in the history of Telltale Games—including the BAFTA nominated finale of The Wolf Among Us. Before joining Lex + Otis Kendall created the story and mythology for the global launch of the multi-billion grossing franchise, Honor of Kings.
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ABOUT STUDIO WILDCARD
Founded in 2014 by industry veterans Jeremy Stieglitz and Jesse Rapczak, Studio Wildcard’s mission is to bring AAA quality to ambitious indie titles designed for core gamers. The studio’s hit title ARK: Survival Evolved has sold more than 35 million copies across all platforms. The team emphasizes direct communication with their active community, implements player feedback into its fast, iterative dev cycle, and provides tools to drive user-generated content. Studio Wildcard includes distributed developers across multiple continents, as wherever talented developers reside, Wildcard seeks them out! www.studiowildcard.com
MEDIA CONTACT
Tracie Kennedy
Reverb Communications
tracie@reverbinc.com