Markiplier, the streamer nobody hates, is directing his own movie

It says something about the video game streaming ecosystem that it’s notable when a creator picks up a reputation for not being a problematic or controversial piece of shit. But such is the public persona of Mark “Markiplier” Fischbach, a.k.a. (at least, as we think of him) “the streamer that nobody hates.”

Now, Markiplier is rolling that reputation—and also his considerable success as a streamer, with more than 30 million subscribers on YouTube alone—into a more mainstream arena, with Deadline reporting today that he’s gearing up to direct his first movie. Specifically, Fischbach will be tackling an adaptation of—what else?—a video game, in the form of a movie version of submarine horror story Iron Lung.

Created by David Szymanski—best known for his work on the ridiculously inventive throwback shooter Dusk—Iron Lung is about, to quote press materials, piloting “a tiny submarine through an ocean of blood on an alien moon.” Which seems like it’d either be kind of daunting to film, or quite easy, depending on how much energy you’re putting into the whole “tiny, claustrophobic space” conceit. (A brief teaser for the movie shows a fairly accurate recreation of its cramped set.) The film is being self-financed by Markiplier, who regularly makes lists of the most financially successful streamers; it’ll apparently star Caroline Rose Kaplan, working from a script by the streamer.

This isn’t the first time Markiplier has gotten into more narrative video content; he previously released a set of award-winning interactive adventures for fans (A Heist With Markiplier and Markiplier In Space), allowing them to choose branching storylines to follow, in 2019 and 2022. No word yet on where the Iron Lung movie might ultimately end up; Markiplier has previous collaborated with YouTube to release some of his projects, but it’s not like he doesn’t have the reach to self-release at this point.