The Engine Room walks dinosaur sequel for BBC

BBC1 is launching a second series of the award-winning Walking with Dinosaurs, featuring a revised on-screen identity and related promotional merchandise designed by The Engine Room.

Provisionally titled Walking with Beasts, the series will tell the story of the creatures that roamed Earth after the dinosaurs died out. It launches later this year but the date has yet to be confirmed.

It is The Engine Room’s first work for the BBC. According to creative director Gary Milton, the consultancy is branding all merchandise introduced around the series, including dinosaur toys.

BBC executive producer Tim Haines says: “Dinosaurs are everyone’s childhood favourites. But the death of dinosaurs is not the end of the story. Few people know about what happened next: the creatures that came after dinosaurs and gave rise to man.”

The series aims to explore the last 65 million years and chart the rise of mammals and modern man. It is in production in the US, South Africa and Java, where the BBC Science team is working with palaeontologists.

A BBC Worldwide spokewoman says the BBC will sign merchandising deals with toy manufacturers that will be similar to Walking with Dinosaurs spin-offs. The FrameStore will provide all computer animatronics for Walking with Beasts.