Iron Lung, a first-person immersion horror video game, launched last year to mostly positive reviews. Barely a year later, the content creator and entrepreneur, Mark Edward “Markiplier” Fischbach, is turning it into a feature film.
Deadline reported on the development last Friday, revealing that Markiplier will self-finance the project, which is currently in production in Austin, Texas. Alongside this, the online personality unveiled a brief teaser on his YouTube channel officially announcing the project.
Iron Lung follows an unnamed convict in a distant future where an event called the Quiet Rapture has caused the disappearance of stars and habitable planets with the survivors comprised of people living on space stations and starships before the event. In exchange for their freedom, the convict undertakes an expedition to a desolate moon with an ocean of blood to search for resources necessary for human survival.
Iron Lung will star Markiplier as the lead character while also directing and writing the screenplay. The adaptation will also star Caroline Rose Kaplan, whose acting credits include The Plot Against America, Orange is the New Black, Divorce, and Proof. At the moment, there is no information available about the film’s plot. However, in a post published to his Twitter account, the game’s developer, David Szymanski, revealed that it will be a separate canon from the game, at least for now.
Movie is a separate canon from the game, at least FOR NOW
— David Szymanski (@DUSKdev) April 21, 2023
Apart from his writing, starring, and directing roles, Markiplier will also serve as one of the film’s producers, alongside Will Hyde and Jeff Guerrero. Andrew Hulshult, the video game music designer behind the scores of Dusk, Doom Eternal, and Quake Champions, among others, will compose the film’s soundtrack.
Markiplier is a social media personality and veteran YouTuber with a combined audience of over 69 million across his multiple social media platforms. He began his career in 2012 when he started hosting a gaming commentary tagged Let’s Play, which focused on survival horror titles like Amnesia: The Dark Descent and the Five Nights at Freddy’s series, on his YouTube channel.
In 2022, the content creator was named the third highest-paid YouTube star by Forbes as well as the 11th Top Creator of the Year.
Apart from his YouTube channel, Markiplier hosts two prominent podcasts with Spotify-exclusive video deals. He hosts the first podcast, named Go! My Favorite Sports Team, with Tyler Scheid, and the second, named Distractible, with Wade Barnes and Bob Muyskens. Markiplier’s writing and directorial experience includes the YouTube Original Series A Heist with Markiplier, which was nominated for an Emmy Award, and In Space with Markiplier.
So yes, tl;dr the reason I've been so busy lately is because I've been heavily involved with production of the Iron Lung movie, from assisting with the script and pre-production to now being on set for the shoot and even having a small cameo in the film!
— David Szymanski (@DUSKdev) April 21, 2023
While he doesn’t have any official role in the film adaptation, the game’s developer Szymanski assisted Markiplier with the script. He also helped with pre-production and will have a cameo appearance in the film adaptation. Szymanski is also the creator of Dusk, The Moon Sliver, and Squirrel Stapler.
At the moment, Iron Lung does not have a release date. However, the game remains available on PC and Nintendo Switch platforms.
