Five Nights At Freddy's: Markiplier Will Not Be In The Movie, Here's Why

Sorry, gamers, but Markiplier does not have a secret cameo in "Five Nights at Freddy's." Mark "Markiplier" Fischbach is colloquially known as the "King of 'FNaF'" for his role in helping spread the indie video game to the masses, and many speculated that he would appear in the live-action adaptation. Unfortunately, that's not happening, as confirmed by the King himself.

In a new video published to his YouTube channel, Fischbach confirmed that the lack of his presence was nothing more than a scheduling conflict. "It was supposed to happen," he said. "There was a time it was supposed to occur, and unfortunately the 'Five Nights at Freddy's' movie and my movie, 'Iron Lung,' were being filmed at the exact same time," he said. "It was nothing more than it just so happened to be a conflict of schedule." He said that the plan was that he'd be there for two days of shooting, but as he explained, "Unfortunately it was one of those things where I needed every second that I had to make my movie what it needed to be [...] I wouldn't expect them to compromise the quality of their project for me, just like I would hope they wouldn't expect me to compromise my own movie on their behalf."

The movie he's talking about is the live-action adaptation of David Szymanski's sci-fi horror video game, "Iron Lung." Set in a future where humans have colonized space, all of the stars and habitable planets inexplicably disappear during an event called "The Quiet Rapture." In an attempt to save humanity, the player is sent on a navigation mission on a submarine through a blood ocean on a desolate moon, hoping to find resources to sustain human life. Fischbach serves as writer, director, and star of the film.

"Iron Lung" is being independently financed by Fischbach so he doesn't have studio backing to pay for additional shooting days. "There were so many things I had to do: flying out to go film for a very short turnaround and flying back ... those were two days I couldn't afford to lose," he said in his video. "I couldn't lose two days to do any of that, let alone more. It wasn't a matter of pay. I don't think I wanted any pay ... I wanted to be in it ... it was simply a matter that my schedule didn't align."

"Iron Lung" has already had plenty of buzz surrounding it, with Fischbach claiming that the film will overtake the record held by 2013's "Evil Dead" for the most blood used in a single horror film. Granted, the film is set in a literal blood ocean, so he might be on to something there. The trailer released to his YouTube page shows him covered head to toe in blood, so there's no way this film will be rated anything less than R. He also confirmed that his participation in "FNaF" would have been more than just a small cameo, but that he couldn't talk about the role he was slated to play since the film hasn't come out yet.

"There's no animosity between me and the crew, and Scott, or anything like that," he explained. "It just didn't work out. That doesn't mean I don't support it. It doesn't mean I'm not cheering for it. The lack of animosity is confirmed by Cawthon himself, who commented on the video with hopes for the future. "If we're fortunate enough to get to work on a sequel then hopefully we will have another shot at getting the King of 'FNAF' into a 'FNAF' movie," he wrote. "I can't wait for 'Iron Lung' in the meantime!"

"Five Nights at Freddy's" hits theaters and streaming on Peacock beginning October 27, 2023.