Longtime YouTuber Mark "Markiplier" Fischbach will direct and star in an adaptation of last year's breakout indie horror game "Iron Lung" (opens in new tab) by Dusk developer David Szymanski. Markiplier has uploaded a teaser trailer for the project to his YouTube channel (opens in new tab).

Szymanski's most famous film, "Dusk" (opens in new tab), is one of the tentpoles of the recent retro-shooter renaissance. Meanwhile, 2022's "Iron Lung" shares a similar retro-rendering aesthetic, but pursues a "claustrophobic horror" vibe rather than "sliding along at 60 mph while offering both barrels to a cultist." You play as the sole crew member of the Iron Lang, a windowless submarine under a sea of blood. You must navigate this alien seabed with the help of various analog instruments and a crude black-and-white camera mounted on the submarine's hull, while something stirs in the rusty depths.

Meanwhile, Markiplier uploaded a complete Let's Play (opens in new tab) of the game last year. Even if the fact that he was making a movie of it wasn't a clue, this YouTuber loved it and wrote at the end of the play, "It was amazing, unbelievable. This is not Markiplier's first attempt at more narrative and cinematic content. He previously produced a series called "In Space with Markiplier (opens in new tab)."

The movie teaser begins with a stout, lo-fi interior shot of the submarine in the game, followed by a voice over loudspeaker describing the integrity of the submarine's hull and the situation outside. The submarine tilts sideways as if it is sinking, before the camera reaches the floor and cuts to a mock-up of reality on the same set.

In February, Szymanski tweeted a project announcement (opens in new tab): "This summer. Starring Markiplier as John Iron Lang and Jacksepticeye as The Fish, soundtrack by [Dusk and Doom Eternal composer Andrew Hulshult]. It scans as a classic shitpost, so it was perfectly private. Now, Markiplier and Hulshult (opens in new tab) have joined, but YouTuber Jacksepticeye and the summer release window remain unconfirmed.

Dave Oshry, head of New Blood, clarified that he and other developers are not directly involved in the project, and that the Iron Lung movie is "all by David and Mark," but that "if this works out, we'll have a Dusk and Faith ( (open in new tab) movie" (perhaps jokingly). The question remains, however, how to handle Cart Dog (opens in new tab). It's almost like a one-man, one-room show, like [127 Hours] (opens in new tab) or That Movie Where Ryan Reynolds Was Buried Alive by His Cell Phone (opens in new tab). Come to think of it, it's probably not much different than streaming. Iron Lung itself is worth a look, and to celebrate the announcement, it's 15% off (opens in new tab).