Ark: The Animated Series drops a surprise release, with Michelle Yeoh and Russell Crowe along for dino fun

Remember when Ark: Survival Evolved was announced to be getting an animated series with a star-studded cast including the likes of Michelle Yeoh, Russell Crowe, Elliot Page, David Tennant and Malcolm-bloody-McDowell? I sure didn’t! That was over three years ago during the heights of a worldwide pandemic, though, so I think we can forgive ourselves a little. Anyway, Ark: The Animated Series has now arrived out of the blue, dropping its first six episodes on streaming service Paramount+.

As it sounds, Ark: The Animated Series is based on Studio Wildcard’s hit survival-crafting game, following modern-day dinosaur expert Helena Walker – voiced by The Wheel of Time’s Madeleine Madden – as she’s zapped to an island full of dinos and other companions from across apparent space and time who must together work out what the heck’s going on. (Fittingly, Doctor Who’s David Tennant is also in here.)

The cast really is the draw here, for me anyway, with the impressive names I’ve listed above also joined by the likes of recently Oscar-nominated Jeffrey Wright, Gerard Butler (who deserved an Oscar for last year’s top-tier trash Plane, in my opinion) and even Vin Diesel, swapping Fast & Furious rides for mounting up on a dino. (Cheers, Deadline.)

Those six episodes make up the first part of Ark: The Animated Series’ first season, with another seven due to land sometime in the future. You can give them a watch now if you’re in the US and Canada – you’ll need to be subscribed to Paramount+, obviously – while the rest of us will have to wait until April 19th for a wider international premiere.

The surprise release of the animated series – which had been due to arrive last year, but hadn’t seen any updates on a date since then – follows the similarly sudden release of the game’s remake Ark: Survival Ascended last October. Its full-on sequel, ARK 2, meanwhile is planned to arrive before the end of 2024. At least you’ve now got something to watch in the meantime.