Vin Diesel (Mark Sinclair, born 18 July 1967) is the lead actor of ARK 2 and a senior creative-leadership figure at Studio Wildcard. He voices and performs the protagonist Santiago da Costa, holds the title President of Creative Convergence at the studio, and is credited as executive producer on ARK 2 and on the connected animated series. For the in-fiction character he plays, see the Santiago da Costa page; for the studio that hired him, see Studio Wildcard.
Quick Profile
Field | Detail |
|---|---|
Role at Studio Wildcard | President of Creative Convergence (since 2020); senior creative-leadership role across games, animation, and licensing |
Role on ARK 2 | Lead actor (Santiago da Costa) and executive producer |
Role on Animated Series | Executive producer and voice cast (reprises Santiago); the series is out of scope for this wiki except where it provides context for ARK 2 casting decisions |
Birth Name | Mark Sinclair |
Notable Roles Outside ARK | Dominic Toretto in the Fast & Furious franchise; Riddick in The Chronicles of Riddick; Groot in the Marvel Cinematic Universe; the lead role in Bloodshot |
ARK Hours Cited | Studio Wildcard leadership has publicly stated Diesel has played thousands of hours of the franchise's previous game |
Joining Studio Wildcard
Diesel's attachment to ARK was announced on 10 December 2020 alongside the reveal trailer at The Game Awards. The studio framed his involvement as substantially deeper than a celebrity voice role from day one. He was named lead actor on ARK 2 in the same announcement, attached as executive producer on both the game and on the then-newly-announced animated companion series, and given the studio-leadership title President of Creative Convergence, a position that gives him formal sign-off authority across games, animation, and licensing decisions on the franchise.
Why The Studio Hired Him
Studio leadership has publicly stated that Diesel was already a long-time fan of the franchise's previous game, with thousands of hours of personal play time logged in it before the deal. That framing is consistent across multiple studio interviews: the casting was pitched not as a marketing stunt but as bringing in a player-fan whose creative input on tone, character beats, and series direction could carry weight. The Santiago da Costa page details a specific design pivot tied to this casting: the protagonist was originally written as a nerd and gearhead, and once Diesel came aboard the role was rewritten to fit his on-screen persona of a weighty, deliberate man of action.
Creative Convergence Role
President of Creative Convergence is a real studio title rather than a marketing label. It places Diesel above day-to-day production on the org chart and gives him formal authority over creative decisions that span media: the games, the animated companion series, and franchise licensing. In practical terms this means his sign-off is part of the chain on major story beats, lead casting, and direction-of-travel calls for the wider franchise. The position has not been described publicly as a full-time studio role; Diesel continues to act in unrelated film franchises in parallel.
On-Screen Role In ARK 2
In the sequel Diesel performs the player character: a clone of Santiago da Costa who wakes up on the alien planet Arat after the destruction of the Genesis Colony Ship and fights to keep his daughter Meeka alive. The two announced cinematic trailers (December 2020 and June 2022) both feature Diesel's voice work and his motion-captured character likeness. No public gameplay footage has been shown. Diesel's daughter character Meeka is voiced by Auli'i Cravalho, announced in the June 2022 trailer. Beyond the two leads and the antagonist Aratai faction, no further named cast has been confirmed.
As the 2028 release window slipped further out, studio leadership has acknowledged publicly that Diesel's full on-screen involvement is now an open question rather than a settled commitment. The Santiago role has been written, recorded, and tied to him since 2020, but the years between the original announcement and the current target leave room for changes in scope. Studio Wildcard has not stated any change to Diesel's status as of mid-May 2026, and Santiago remains his confirmed role; the uncertainty is around the volume of additional motion-capture and voice work that may be needed across the remaining production timeline rather than around whether he is still attached.
Studio Wildcard has publicly described the production design as branching around Diesel's availability rather than blocking on it. At the December 2025 Snail Games Investor Day, co-founder Jeremy Stieglitz framed the situation directly: the open question is how much performance the studio can secure from Diesel across the remaining production timeline, and the narrative has been written with that uncertainty baked in. There is a fuller version of the script reserved for a scenario in which a large volume of additional motion-capture and voice work lands, and a tighter version that resolves the same beats with less new performance from Diesel. Either path keeps Santiago as his confirmed role; the variable is how much of his time the project can lock down between now and the 2028 target window. The studio has not stated which path it is currently planning to ship.
Connection To The Animated Series
Diesel is also attached to ARK: The Animated Series in the same executive-producer and voice-cast roles. The animated series is a sibling franchise property and is out of scope as a standalone subject on this wiki, but it is the main reason the casting decision has visibility across the wider franchise rather than only inside ARK 2 itself. Karl Urban's franchise role (the character Bob) is on the animated side as of the current confirmed cast list; Urban has not been confirmed for ARK 2 itself.
Unconfirmed Details
Topic | Status |
|---|---|
Specific creative decisions Diesel has signed off on | Not publicly disclosed line-by-line; only the broad design-pivot quote is on the record. |
Whether Diesel performs motion capture for combat sections | Trailer footage shows his character likeness but the studio has not publicly stated whether the in-game animation set is sourced from his own motion capture. |
Diesel's involvement in post-launch ARK 2 content | Not announced. |
Compensation structure | Not disclosed. |
This page will be updated as the studio publishes more detail about Diesel's specific contributions to ARK 2.