Mark Fischbach didn’t wait for Hollywood’s permission.
The YouTuber known as Markiplier just proved that independent creators can bypass traditional gatekeepers entirely—and win big doing it.
His debut film Iron Lung shattered expectations by earning over $20 million at the box office without any studio backing, marking what many are calling a seismic shift in how movies get made and distributed.
But even with 38 million subscribers and an Emmy nomination under his belt, Fischbach reveals that Hollywood’s old guard still isn’t rolling out the red carpet for digital creators.
Hollywood’s Invisible Wall
Despite recent successes from YouTube creators breaking into mainstream cinema—like RackaRacka’s Talk To Me and Curry Barker’s Obsession—Fischbach says industry perception hasn’t shifted as much as you’d expect.
Less than you’d think. It’s hard to gauge because being kind of outside in the first place… it’s probably now something that they can’t ignore.
During his Emmy nomination experience, Fischbach encountered rejection that felt both personal and puzzling from a business standpoint.
I was at the red carpet—I notoriously hate red carpets—but the publications that were there didn’t want to talk to me, and I’m fine with that. If you don’t want to talk to me, I’m not going to make you talk to me. But in my mind, it’s strange because if you put out a video with me in it, it’s going to be good for you.
His publicist witnessed firsthand how media outlets dismissed him simply for being “a YouTuber.”
The irony? Fischbach’s massive platform makes interviewing him a strategic advantage for any publication looking for engagement.
From Game to Screen: Creating Iron Lung
Based on David Szymanski’s indie horror game, Iron Lung follows convict Simon through a blood ocean on a desolate moon after humanity mysteriously vanishes during an event called the Quiet Rapture.
Fischbach wrote, directed, and starred in the adaptation—maintaining complete creative control throughout.
What drew him to this particularly unsettling concept?
What this game does really well is it puts a unique perspective on a horror environment that people are not used to. People have seen a lot of horror movies, but being isolated with such a limited view in such a bizarre environment, in a submarine in an ocean of blood, there’s all these questions popping up and you don’t know what’s outside.
The audio-driven tension creates psychological horror rather than relying on jump scares—something that translates powerfully to cinema.
Breaking Records With Blood
While Iron Lung has generated headlines for its box office performance, there’s one record Fischbach is certain about: most fake blood ever used in a film.
The record I know of right now is blood. Most fake blood. And that one is, I mean, if you’ve seen it, it’s pretty obvious. Look, it’s an ocean of blood. There’s no way it’s not going to have the record.
But achieving that record presented engineering challenges that required Fischbach to tap into his background as a former engineer.
Engineering an Ocean
The logistics of managing thousands of gallons of liquid blood on a motion control rig created unprecedented technical hurdles.
The liquid weight alone, even partially full, just a foot and a half, was an extra 9,000 pounds. It’s enormous. It boggles the mind. That’s maybe a thousand gallons to that point. When you start to go above that, you can’t really move it much because if you move it too much, it’ll tsunami out the walls of the set.
Semi-trailers hauled massive industrial containers of fake blood down highways to supply production needs.
An industrial dumpster filled with 8,000 to 9,000 gallons served as a dunking tank for certain scenes.
Dethroning Evil Dead
Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead previously held the blood record with an unverified claim of 50,000 gallons used in the infamous blood rain scene.
They say it’s from that blood rain scene. And I’m not throwing shade on them, but they don’t have a verifiable number for that 50,000 gallons someone put out. I think it’s one of those things where someone said it and no one denied it.
Having wrestled with the realities of managing that volume firsthand, Fischbach questions whether those original numbers were accurate.
The Five Nights at Freddy’s That Almost Was
When asked about dream horror projects, Fischbach revealed a missed opportunity that stung: he was supposed to appear in the Blumhouse Five Nights at Freddy’s sequel.
I was supposed to be in it and I wasn’t. Because I was working on this, so I just couldn’t spare any time. I was supposed to be the guy that died in the first scene in part two.
Scheduling conflicts with Iron Lung forced him to pass on the cameo—a sacrifice that ultimately paid off given his film’s massive success.
Horror Influences and Inspirations
Event Horizon remains the film that most profoundly affected Fischbach’s creative vision and continues influencing his work.
Event Horizon stuck with me as a horror. Yeah, that gave me nightmares for a long time. A lot of what I’ve done always kind of goes back to those aesthetics.
His previous project In Space with Markiplier featured ship designs directly inspired by Paul W.S. Anderson’s sci-fi horror classic.
When pressed about potentially rebooting Event Horizon himself, Fischbach diplomatically declined, suggesting the original’s performances and aesthetics remain too strong to improve upon.
Eyes on The Mortuary Assistant
Another indie horror game heading to theaters has caught Fischbach’s attention: DreadXP’s The Mortuary Assistant.
It was scary. I think it was very good. I’m interested to see what it’s going to be as a movie. I think it’s a good concept. It’s a very enclosed space. There are a lot of good scares in the game.
He specifically praised how the game educated players about realistic embalming procedures while delivering genuine scares—something he believes could translate effectively to cinema.
What This Means for Independent Creators
Fischbach’s success with Iron Lung represents more than just one filmmaker’s achievement.
It proves that digital creators with established audiences can:
- Finance and produce theatrical releases independently
- Compete with studio-backed films at the box office
- Maintain complete creative control throughout production
- Leverage existing platforms to market directly to fans
- Build sustainable careers without traditional industry gatekeepers
While Hollywood publications may still refuse red carpet interviews, audiences are voting with their wallets.
The democratization of filmmaking isn’t coming—it’s already here, carried forward by creators who built their own ladders when doors remained closed.
Iron Lung isn’t just a successful horror film. It’s a blueprint for the next generation of independent filmmakers who refuse to wait for permission to tell their stories.