# Iron Lung (film)

Iron Lung is an upcoming American science fiction horror film written, directed, produced by, and starring Mark Fischbach (better known by his online alias Markiplier) in his feature directorial debut. It is an adaptation of the 2022 video game of the same name by David Szymanski.

## Premise

Set in a post-apocalyptic future where an event known as "The Quiet Rapture" caused all known stars and habitable planets in the universe to disappear, a convict is sent to search an ocean of blood discovered on a desolate moon, using a poorly-constructed midget submarine nicknamed the "Iron Lung".

## Cast

* Mark Fischbach
* Caroline Rose Kaplan
* Seán McLoughlin
* David Szymanski (cameo)

## Production
### Development

On February 16, 2023, David Szymanski jokingly announced on Twitter that Mark Fischbach and Seán McLoughlin (known by their online usernames Markiplier and Jacksepticeye, respectively) would be starring in a film adaptation of the game Iron Lung which Fischbach and McLoughlin both played, with a soundtrack by Andrew Hulshult, slated for a summer release. In an interview with Variety on March 8, 2023, Fischbach confirmed he was directing, writing, and acting for a film, but did not state what it was. On May 7, 2023, McLoughlin confirmed on Twitter that he would be in the film.

### Pre-production

Szymanski has assisted with the script and pre-production of the film, and is also set to have a cameo in the film. Andrew Hulshult was also confirmed to be scoring the film. Iron Lung is the first film soundtrack that Hulshult worked on.

### Filming and post-production

On April 21, 2023, Fischbach officially announced a film adaptation of Iron Lung with the release of a teaser trailer. Additionally, Deadline Hollywood reported that Fischbach was also self-financing the film, co-starring with Caroline Rose Kaplan, and producing with Will Hyde and Jeff Guerrero; filming had already commenced in Austin, Texas. Szymanski confirmed the film is intended for a theatrical release, marking the film as Fischbach's first theatrical film; he previously directed and wrote the YouTube Original interactive films A Heist with Markiplier (2019) and In Space with Markiplier (2022). During production, Fischbach confirmed that Iron Lung will contain the most fake blood of any horror film, beating 2013 film Evil Dead's 50,000 US gallons (190,000 L); during filming, he went to the hospital due to getting too much fake blood in his eyes. On April 29, Fischbach announced on his YouTube channel that filming had been completed, marking the beginning of the editing and post-production process.
In July 2023, Fischbach revealed that he is a member of SAG-AFTRA, and that the production of Iron Lung would be delayed due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike.
On October 14, 2023, Fischbach published the official trailer of the movie on his YouTube channel. On October 16, in a livestream on his YouTube channel, he stated that he had turned down a role in Five Nights at Freddy's in order to produce Iron Lung, due to the two films having conflicting production schedules.

## Release

In June 2024, Fischbach announced that the film was "officially done", and that he was in the process of negotiating the film's release. Iron Lung is planned for a theatrical release.