Markiplier’s Long-Awaited Horror Video Game Adaptation Finally Sets Theatrical Release Date
After spending nearly three years putting the film together, Markiplier’s Iron Lung adaptation has finally landed a theatrical release date. The iconic YouTube gamer is best known for his horror-related content, going all the way back to his early days of popularity playing the Five Nights at Freddy’s games to making an appearance on YouTube’s Scare PewDiePie series and leading the Prime Video adaptation of psychological horror podcast The Edge of Sleep.
Markiplier began expanding to the world of his own filmmaking in early 2023, with the announcement of a film that he would be directing, writing and starring in, which was later confirmed to be an adaptation of Iron Lung. Based on David Szymanski’s 2022 horror game of the same name, the film is set in a post-apocalyptic future as a convict is placed in the titular midget submarine to investigate an ocean of blood on a desolate moon that may hold the answer to the mysterious event known as The Quiet Rapture that saw all known stars and habitable planets disappear.
As first reported by Variety, Iron Lung will officially hit theaters in late January 2026. The movie, which Markiplier is also self-distributing after financing a good portion of it himself, is going to release in independent theaters across the country, currently planned for somewhere between 50–100 theaters in its opening weekend of January 30-February 1. Additionally, tickets are going on sale Friday in time for the film’s premiere at the Alamo Drafthouse in downtown Los Angeles. Markiplier wrote about the release in the following statement:
They said it shouldn’t be done. Not that it couldn’t be done, people have made movies before, just that it would be “woefully unwise” to tackle writing, directing, acting and editing a movie myself. Showed them. My bathroom might be a render farm now but I can’t wait for people to see the blood, sweat, blood, tears, blood and blood that went into this movie from everyone involved. Iron Lung also holds a world record for most blood in a horror movie. Or any movie for that matter.
While wide release plans have yet to be announced for the film, Iron Lung getting a theatrical release of any capacity marks an exciting next step for fans of Markiplier. The filmmaker has spent nearly three years putting the film together, with production having taken place back in mid 2023, while working on the post-production process in the following years, including to the point of missing out on a Five Nights at Freddy’s cameo. Not only was this process delayed by the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike, but also his ongoing YouTube output, which has included teaser trailers for the film.
The confirmation of a theatrical release also shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, as Markiplier revealed in late 2024 that part of the delay to release Iron Lung was securing a theatrical release deal for it. Between the movie breaking the Evil Dead franchise’s record for the most fake blood used in a single production, and his dedication to an affecting story at its core, he’s frequently remained committed to getting it a big-screen release.
One of the other points of curiosity now for those who have followed Iron Lung‘s production is what kind of home release the movie will receive after its theatrical debut. Considering Markiplier has a massive following on YouTube, with nearly 38 million subscribers and over 23 billion views, there is a very strong chance he elects to have it stream on his channel, either through a charge to rent or buy the film, or a free option.
One thing that could end up working in Markiplier’s favor for determining Iron Lung‘s home release is how the film does in theaters. A strong word of mouth and initial limited release could lead to big turnouts that see it expand further and attract the interest of major streamers for acquisition. Regardless of its future, with the video game adaptation genre remaining as popular as ever, and Markiplier having the passionate fanbase he does, the movie has a good chance to become a sneaky box office smash.
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Released
March 10, 2022
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t
Engine
unity
