Skip to content 
As long as I was conscious, Markiplier (real name Mark Fischbach) lived on my best friend’s phone screen. Our walk to our idyllic, grass-filled high school in perpetually hot Floridian (insert literally any season here) soundtracked the famous “My name’s Markiplier” intro to his YouTube videos and screaming girls. See, Natalie and I both had a “different” friendship: we bonded on the first day of high school over our love of the Beatles, lunchboxes, and my undying obsession with Disney Channel Original Movies. The movie Teens on the Beach. At age 13, we would gather in our school cafeteria, his phone propped up on the lunchbox, and share headphones as we watched Fischbach conquer the new game of the day.
In our adult lives, it has blossomed into the most encouraging, optimistic, and honest friendship I’ve ever had. Now that we’ve been dating long distance for the past four years, I miss him like a hole in my heart, so I wanted to learn more about what he loves, which led me to turn on Markiplier’s YouTube videos when I was feeling lonely. I never imagined that the goofy man on my best friend’s phone (and lock screen) would ever be able to dominate the box office with an impressive grassroots campaign that quietly revolutionized the way movies are distributed and how audiences interact with movies.
Fischbach first played the Iron Lung video game back in May 2022. His passion for the project was evident: I learned that you can tell when Fischbach loves a game when you see him become quieter and more thoughtful as he plays, commenting on the ideas presented to him rather than just picking apart the mechanics (playing “Kill the Princess” for a brilliant commentary on existentialism). The game “Iron Lung” takes place in a dystopian world after the event called “Quiet Rapture”, in which planets and stars began to disappear one by one. You play as part of a survivalist group from the space station Eden, which has been captured by the rival group Consolidation of Iron (COI). The reasons for your imprisonment are not given, but your punishment (which you play) involves being welded into a submarine and searching for fallen stars in an ocean of blood, in the hope that you can perform tests that will help restore humanity.
For those in the know, Fischbach’s interest in the game is lovingly ironic: one of his lifelong interests was space and its great mystery, while one of his greatest fears was the ocean. For his debut film to be one that deals with his deepest fear and his greatest love.
It wasn’t a real surprise — more of a shock — when Fischbach announced in April 2023 that he had acquired the rights to the Iron Lung gameplay and narrative. Along with game developer David Szymanski to bring the film to life, Fischbach would write, direct, produce and star in the adaptation. In the announcement, Fischbach consistently emphasized that he would make sure that this adaptation, unlike before, would be a true adaptation – not a copycat, not a completely different IP, but the true reinvention for the big screen that the game deserved. Szymanski was present at every step of the creative development: the two collaborated heavily on the script, production design and set, with Szymanski making a small cameo in the big screen adaptation of the game he so lovingly developed.
The result of this laborious work is the year 2026 iron lung. As a film, it is poignant, intimate, and hauntingly moving. The film builds on the knowledge of the game’s player characters and expands them into the main characters: Simon (Fishbach), a spy from Eden who was captured by the COI after a mission gone wrong and is now imprisoned aboard the Iron Lung submarine on a reconnaissance mission to find something in the ocean of blood that will improve humanity. The thriller is effective, and Fischbach convincingly plays Simon’s toughness balanced by the attitude of a man desperate to survive despite his faults. Simon frantically tries to survive in a submarine that is slowly losing oxygen, all while encountering blood that is covered as mere ocean condensation and begins to blare through a disconnected intercom.
iron lung is the trigger arrival How it builds a narrative around simmering suspense. Simon exists in both the submarine that is collapsing around him and the actual reality of the human world collapsing after the “quiet rapture” that manifests in Simon’s physicality the longer he remains in the submarine. Although the restriction is imposed entirely by A very The dimly lit (which often gets in the way) location only allows Fischbach to do so much with his performance, he balances the tenderness of a man pleading with a voice that may or may not be in his head to keep talking to him with the anguished anguish of an angry man demanding to know how his penitence group could not know his name. The relationship we have with Simon is deeply intimate and haunting as his relationship with himself shifts violently from contempt to hatred to uneasy acceptance as the reality around him becomes more and more distorted. His conscience — which may or may not be a terrifying creature lurking in an ocean of blood — takes on the voice of a woman who oversees his mission, albeit with a different accent. As an adaptation of the source material, and as an entry into the often stereotypical and cringeworthy genre of “video game movies,” I find iron lung be an artistic achievement more in line with the acclaim of television critics the last of us.
After Fischbach secured the rights to The Iron Lung, he was free to produce, direct, star and write on his own without interference from the studio giant. The film’s promotional campaign didn’t take place on the Hot Ones couch or BuzzFeed’s Puppy Interview, but where Fischbach’s fan base is most alive: social media. After producing and starring in limited series Sleep limit For Amazon Prime Video – an entertaining entry in science fiction, which, unfortunately, was not promoted by the streaming giant (to the extent that it was not even presented on the press website and quietly moved to Tubi after a few months) – one could feel distrust, or rather fear, for Fischbach to interact with “mainstream” media sources, routes, routes. Considering that the project was self-financed, most of it iron lungIt was promoted on the cast and crew’s social media accounts, including, of course, Markiplier’s social media accounts. The trailer of the film was seen by millions of people in just a few days, fans emailed. iron lung opening weekend. This generated unprecedented interest, and the launch – which initially targeted around 60 theaters nationwide – ended up including more than 4,100 theaters internationally.
Fan demand for a universally beloved figure for the online generation (Fishbach sits comfortably in the Hall of Fame of YouTubers who “raised” Gen Z, including Tyler Oakley, Jacksepticeye, MattPtt, Zoella, and Dan and Phil) shows the power of Gen Z as educated, passionate, passionate consumers, both beyond media and at home. Cinema. iron lung It went so far as to become the king of the box office, sitting at number one at the domestic box office on its opening Friday and Saturday against heavyweights and award winners such as Zootopia 2 and Send help. All of this is stunning and unprecedented for a completely independent release, and looking at the numbers only reinforces it: iron lung It cost about 4 million dollars to make. Dominating the box office through independent means, the film grossed $21 million globally in its first week. It’s incredible that an independently made, unconventionally promoted film can make back seven times its original budget in its first week, so in light of its unprecedented success and thanks to the cast and crew, Fischbach. Bonus paid The amount of their initial salary in a profit sharing agreement that shows the importance of supporting indie cinema.
The numbers and public support prove it: what Fischbach managed to achieve His debut independent film is a precedent. iron lung Cinematically, while not the corporate ideal of a video game movie – instead, it was created with sweat, brains and indie artistry, and nurtured and encouraged by a fan base that loves it fiercely and unconditionally. From passion projects created with an indie ethos and a deep love for the subject. There’s never been a disconnect between what the studios think we want and what we really want: it’s always been about the artists, the artists, and the spirit of passion.
