ARK: The Animated Series is apparently a thing and has just surprised-dropped six episodes on Paramount Plus

An animated series for Paramount+ based on ARK: Survival Evolved (now Ascended) ahead of the launch of ARK 2 was announced in 2020, but we don't blame you if you'd forgotten, as that pterosaur flew under most folks' radars. Now, the streaming service has surprise-dropped six episodes of it in the US and Canada.

The surprising news arrived through Paramount's own social media channels and was subsequently confirmed by sites like Deadline, who also confirmed the star-studded voice cast.

One would think this production was a smaller one, yet we're looking at huge names such as Michelle Yeoh (Everything Everywhere All at Once), Russell Crowe (The Loudest Voice), Gerard Butler (Plane), David Tennant (Doctor Who), Jeffrey Wright (American Fiction), Elliot Page (The Umbrella Academy), Madeleine Madden (The Wheel of Time), and Vin Diesel (Fast & Furious franchise). They're not messing around, eh?

The show itself, which released a lengthy trailer in late 2022 too, looks okay and like your average streaming-only animated adaptation based on a video game. That is, below Castlevania's level and on par with stuff like DOTA, Dragon's Dogma, or the upcoming Tomb Raider for Netflix.

As for the plot, it's looking quite isekai-ish, with 21st century paleontologist Helena Walker (Madden) finding herself resurrected after a tragedy and "on a mysterious primeval island populated by prehistoric beasts," where "she must learn to survive with new allies from throughout time, while trying to uncover the true nature of their strange new world." Dinos and other prehistoric animals abound, but some bits of worldbuilding also feel Turok-y, which makes us want an animated Turok series now as well.

According to Deadline's report, the six episodes released today comprise part one of the first season, with part 2 arriving later this year. Dropping a TV series based on a hit video game with such a stunning voice cast without any fanfare is kind of a weird flex, but okay. Select international territories will be able to stream the show starting April 19th.