How gaming YouTuber Markiplier became an overnight box-office…

Markiplier is far from the only YouTuber to see success lately in theatrical cinema –Talk to Mefilmmakers the Philippou Brothers andSkinamarinkvisionary Kyle Edward Ball spring to mind. ​“It’s novel until it’s not – and then it’s expected,” offers Fischbach. ​“That’s why Iwanted to do theatrical, because Iwant to normalise the idea of aYouTuber trying to make something else. The scales are way too tipped towards big studios, so Iwant to bring it back alittle bit.Iron Lung is more successful than Iever thought it would be, but it doesn’t even have to do that – it could make amore modest sum. Ihave advantages that no one else has, and Irecognise that fully. Iwould love it if people found bigger success than me. Iwould love that more than anything.”

Fischbach stressesIron Lungas aserious project. As one might expect for something spearheaded by apopular YouTuber, audiences have treated the film in the run-up to release as something of ameme, while many film publications have dismissed it as acuriosity. But for Markiplier, there’s amore important dialogue. ​“When afilmmaker makes amovie, they go on the interview circuit. And I’ve been doing that,” says Fischbach. ​“But after I’m done with that, Igo on YouTube and Ihit stream. Iget to have that instantaneous relationship with my audience and tell them the truth of what I’m seeing. There’s no waiting for an article to be written. There’s value in these publications, but there is this novel nature of having that instant ability to talk to my fans real quick. And having that personal relationship makes everything move faster.”

Markiplier’s star streamer status is undeniable, and translates fascinatingly to the big screen, where Fischbach is, for the most part, the only performer present. ​“I wanted them to see the character, but Iknew that was going to be difficult,” he explains. ​“Which is why Ifilmed alot from behind. In side profile, I’ve got hair in front of me. Iwant people to forget about who this is. Idon’t want people to seeme– and it was alot of people’s worries. Iwant people to have this almost blank slate. As agame,youstep into the shoes of the player.”

The film’s approach to authorship equally fascinates. Developer Szymanski leads the credits, with Fischbach placing himself last. ​“I wanted to align [the film] with his vision, and Iwanted people to know the name of the developer. Idon’t need my name first. People know!” laughs Fischbach. ​“If Icould not put my name on it at all, Iwould, but my manager would kill me. Iwant David’s work to be foremost, and Ihope that game sales are doing really well right now. And likewise, Andrew’s music and sound mix guy Brad – this movie lives in its sound. Iwant people to lean in – that’s the feeling that Iwas trying to capture about the game. You want to put your ear to the hole and be like, what the fuck is out there? You want to squint at the pictures and be like, what am Ilooking at? Iwant people to lean in. It’s about focus and concentration and limited perspective.”

These qualities are shared by anumber of indie horror games making the jump to the big screen this year –Genki Kawamura’sExit 8and soon-to-premiereJiro Nagae’sThe Convenience Store– which translate well thanks to their source material’s short length. Markiplier popularised both games on YouTube. ​“The writer forConvenience Store is working on the movie,” he tells us. ​“It’s so cool, because Ithink it’s apipeline. That game is low-res. There’s no voice acting, it’s mostly sounds and text. Maybe filmmakers could reduce their idea down to adifferent medium – even just an audio podcast – and then use that to cultivate an audience and get it on screen. Ithink [Iron Lung] shows that itworks.”

Yet in the wake of the film’s titanic success, Fischbach isn’t dreaming of amulti-hyphenate ascent. ​“I’m just Markiplier,” he says. ​“I don’t need any other names or titles. If Ihave to do arole, I’ll do arole. Itried to move alight once, and Igot yelled at by aproducer. I’m not saying this for applause, Iknow that union rules are union rules. But Ihelped as much as Icould get away with. We’re all trying to make the same thinghere.”