YouTube Star Markiplier’s Self-Financed Horror Movie ‘Iron Lung’ to Hit Theaters in January
After more than two years in the works, Markiplier‘s feature-film directorial debut — horror sci-fi movie “Iron Lung” — is set to open in theaters in late January 2026.
Markiplier, the popular YouTube creator whose real name is Mark Fischbach, produced, wrote, directed, edited, financed and stars in “Iron Lung.” The film is based on the 2022 indie horror game of the same name by David Szymanski.
Markiplier also is self-distributing the film, working directly with independent theaters across the country. For the opening weekend (Jan. 30-Feb. 1), he’s aiming for “Iron Lung” to be in 50-100 independent theaters. Tickets will start to go on sale Friday, coinciding with the film’s L.A. premiere at Alamo Drafthouse Cinema Downtown.
At this point, Markiplier has not finalized plans for when or where “Iron Lung” will become available on streaming. Getting the film through post-production and into a theatrical window has taken him nearly three years since he announced in an April 2023 video that shooting for “Iron Lung” was completed. In addition to Markiplier, the film co-stars Caroline Rose Kaplan, Troy Baker and Elsie Lovelock.
In a statement provided to Variety, Markiplier said, “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.” He added that “Iron Lung” holds a world record “for most blood in a horror movie. Or any movie for that matter.”
Here is Markiplier’s description of “Iron Lung”: The stars are gone. The planets have disappeared. Only individuals aboard space stations or starships were left to give the end a name — The Quiet Rapture. After decades of decay and crumbling infrastructure, the Consolidation of Iron has made a discovery on a barren moon designated AT-5. An ocean of blood. Hoping to discover desperately needed resources they immediately launch an expedition. A submarine is crafted and a convict is welded inside. Due to the pressure and depth of the ocean the forward viewport has been encased in metal. If successful, they will earn their freedom. If not, another will follow. This will be the 13th expedition.
Markiplier has over 73 million followers across digital platforms, including more than 37 million subscribers on YouTube. His videos on YouTube span “quality content to meme-able garbage” and from “scary games to full-on interactive movies,” he says in his channel description.
He currently co-hosts popular podcasts “Distractible” and “Go! My Favorite Sports Team,” both of which were acquired by Spotify in 2023. Last year, he starred in New Regency’s “The Edge of Sleep” limited series on Amazon Prime Video. He can also be seen in the Emmy-nominated YouTube original series “In Space with Markiplier,” the follow-up to his series “A Heist with Markiplier,” for which he served as creator, writer, director and star.
Beyond digital platforms, Markiplier co-founded Cloak, a clothing company fostering inclusivity that recently partnered with the Trevor Project, donating part of the proceeds from their limited-edition collection Binary. He also has has hosted numerous live charity drives, raising millions of dollars in donations for organizations including Best Friends Animal Society, Charity Water, Direct Relief and the Environmental Defense Fund.
Fischbach is represented by Ben Curtis, WME, and Hansen, Jacobson, Teller, Hoberman, Newman, Warren, Richman, Rush, Kaller, Gellman, Meigs & Fox.
This is the trailer for “Iron Lung,” which Markiplier released in October 2023:
