Vin Diesel is both an Ark 2 actor and executive producer

In a nutshell: Hollywood stars appearing in video games is far from a new phenomenon. In the case of Vin Diesel, who we saw in the new Ark 2 trailer, he’s not only starring in the upcoming title but also working on its development.

Famous names have been appearing in and lending their voices/likeness to games for decades. From great performances such as Mark Hamill’s portrayal of Joker in Arkham Asylum/City and Ray Liotta in GTA: Vice City, to embarrassments that include Christopher Walken’s performance in Ripper, which is more like someone doing a bad impression of Christopher Walken. Vin Diesel has been in more than most—Wheelman, The Chronicles of Riddick games, Fast & Furious Crossroads—and will be seen in Ark 2.

“Theze giaz!”

Many were surprised to see the action star pop up in the trailer, which debuted at the recent Game Awards, but Diesel is actually a longtime fan of the original, having played thousands of hours of the dinosaur-packed survival game, writes PC Gamer.

Diesel’s link with video games extends beyond just appearing in them. He founded Tigon Studios back in 2002, a game developer that primarily created games based on movies featuring the actor. His background likely convinced Studio Wildcard to bring him onboard as an executive producer on Ark 2 with the title of “President of Creative Convergence.”

.@vindiesel reported this btw ? https://t.co/5DWZDe2W6e

— ARK: Survival Evolved (@survivetheark) December 11, 2020

“He understands the game intimately and is providing direct feedback to the development process,” said the developer.

Ark 2 won’t be here until 2022, the same year the Ark animated series arrives, in which Diesel will once again play the character of Santiago.