Markiplier’s ‘Iron Lung’ Hits YouTube May 31

If you missed Iron Lung in theaters, your wait is almost over. Markiplier — real name Mark Fischbach — announced during a panel at the Cannes Film Festival on Sunday that his self-directed, self-funded horror film will be available to watch at home starting May 31, exclusively on YouTube.

The choice of platform wasn’t a surprise to anyone who knows Markiplier’s story. YouTube is where he built his career, where his audience of millions first found him, and where he’s stayed loyal through every evolution of his career. “I’m pretty loyal to it,” he said simply at Cannes, and that was that.

The film will be a paid purchase on YouTube’s Movies & TV storefront — no subscription required, just a one-time buy. Pricing hasn’t been confirmed yet, but new digital releases typically land in the $19.99–$29.99 range. For fans who want something physical, Fischbach previously mentioned a Blu-ray release is also in the works, though no date has been set beyond the YouTube drop.

What Iron Lung Is Actually About

Based on the indie horror game by David Szymanski — the developer behind Dusk — Iron Lung takes place in a bleak future following an event called “The Quiet Rapture,” in which every star and habitable planet in the universe simply vanishes, wiping out most of humanity. The survivors cling to whatever manmade structures remain. When a moon is discovered with what appears to be an ocean of human blood, a convict named Simon (played by Fischbach himself) is sealed inside a decaying submarine and forced to pilot it through the depths in search of answers.

It’s as unsettling as it sounds. Polygon called it frighteningly “claustrophobic” and “immersive” at the time of its theatrical release, and argued the rest of the film industry should be paying close attention to what Markiplier pulled off. Fischbach didn’t just star in the film — he wrote, directed, produced, edited, and distributed it himself after larger studios either passed or tried to take too much creative control.

The cast also includes Caroline Rose Kaplan, Troy Baker, and Elsie Lovelock.

The Box Office Story Nobody Saw Coming

Iron Lung opened in theaters on January 30 with almost no traditional marketing spend. No massive ad campaign, no billboard blitz — just Markiplier’s enormous social media presence and an audience that showed up for him. The result? Over $51 million worldwide against a budget of roughly $3 to $4 million. It famously outperformed Amazon’s Melania Trump biopic at the box office, a detail that still feels almost too good to be true.

What Fischbach did with those profits is the part that really stuck with people. He told Lemonade Stand that he used the earnings to pay every single member of the cast and crew a bonus equal to their original salary. In an industry where profit participation is notoriously murky, that kind of move lands differently.

The film’s success has already had ripple effects. Fellow YouTuber Sean “JackSepticEye” McLoughlin has since been inspired to develop an animated Bloodborne movie of his own — proof that Iron Lung‘s subversive run wasn’t just a one-off moment, but something that genuinely shifted what people think is possible for creator-led films.

What’s Next for Markiplier

At Cannes, Fischbach was candid about his timeline — and refreshingly unbothered about it. He joked that he won’t be making another feature for at least a year, saying he wants to spend time with his wife. When he does get back to it, he teased that he’ll start “working on something” in 2027.

Iron Lung arrives on YouTube on May 31. The submarine is waiting.