A Heist with Markiplier

A Heist with Markiplier
Directed by	Mark Fischbach
Written by	Mark Fischbach
Produced by	Jeff Guerrero
Starring	Mark Fischbach Rosanna Pansino Matthew Patrick Chance Morris
Cinematography	Philip Roy
Edited by	Kody Gibson Dan Hirons
Production companies	20th Century Fox Markiplier, Inc. Rooster Teeth Studios
Distributed by	YouTube Premium Disney Media Distribution Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Release date	October 30, 2019 (2019-10-30)
Running time	90 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

A Heist with Markiplier is a 2019 interactive comedy heist film written and directed by Mark Fischbach, better known by his online pseudonym Markiplier. The film stars Fischbach, as well as Rosanna Pansino, Matthew Patrick, and Chance Morris in major roles. It follows Fischbach on a heist with his assistant (the audience's lens) that goes wrong. If a part of the film is continuous, two end cards will direct viewers to different endings, of which there are 31.

Following the success of Fischbach's previous interactive video A Date with Markiplier in 2017, he wrote the script for the film a year later, although production did not start until 2019. The film was released on YouTube Premium for free on October 30, 2019,^[1] and received positive reviews from critics and audiences, who particularly praised the engagement for the audience.

Plot[]

Markiplier and his assistant break into a museum to steal an ancient box located at a vault. A chain of escapades leads them to obtaining the two keys required to enter the vault. Mark grabs the box, triggering an alarm. Mark gives two escape options: going down a sewer, or bombing the vault and escaping from the door.

Via the sewer, they stumble upon a branch leading to two tunnels: a dark or a light one. Meanwhile, while using the bomb, both escape to a storage room as the bomb explodes, but are caught by the guards. They then escape outside, and Mark plans to head back to their base. They are presented with options of a helicopter and a car.

At the dark tunnel, Mark suggests splitting up to cover more ground. In an agreed scenario, Mark is eaten by a creature living in the dark tunnel who starves on humans. Where splitting is not done, they arrive at a cult base with a tunnel. If they don't split, Mark dies and his assistant escapes. Otherwise, the assistant is confronted by "Darkiplier" who tells them that Mark is a liar, and that he has hidden codes of truth. He returns to the start, confused whether to enter the museum or not. Traveling to the light tunnel will also end in awry, with Mark being abducted by pirates, stricken by a beacon after a laser in the box is activated, and the assistant being eaten by a shark while escaping.

In the scenario of choosing the car, Mark tells him that the car broke down amid a ride. He offers options of walking or fix the car. Where they decide to walk, a set of zombies chase them. Unbeknownst to Mark, his assistant has been bitten by one of the zombies. If he tells the truth, Mark tells him to go away, and the assistant lives with the zombies forever after. Otherwise, it is revealed that the world is ending. At a science lab, a scientist explains that something involved in the current event has caused time and space to warp, and multiple timelines of possible scenarios in life to embed together weirdly. She has prepared a set of tools, including weapons, to track down the anomaly, so that time can be reset back to normal. She reveals that the assistant is the anomaly. If he escapes, the lab is destroyed. Otherwise, she shoots him, and is sent to a portal with a flowchart of all the 31 possible endings in the film. He returns to the start. Meanwhile at Fort Brannagan, the only zombie-proof area, they are being inspected for bites. If the assistant tells the truth about his bite, he is shot. If no, then they are given a peanut butter and jelly sandwich (PB&J) or a tuna fish sandwich. If the 2,000-year-old PB&J is eaten, it will unite humans and zombies. If the 17 AD tuna is eaten, it will create a cure to the novel virus zombiesm.

Where they decide to fix the car, a force separates them. The assistant reaches a cave, where a man named Illinois, resembling Indiana Jones, hands him a cursed monkey statue and asks him to place it at a pedestal. If he refuses to place it, the monkey statue attacks him. If he places it, he becomes a monkey and is transported to a monkey heaven.

Alternately, they choose to ride the helicopter, but are caught and sent to Happy Trails Penitentiary. In one of the resulting endings, the box contains a fairy that grants wishes. In another ending, the assistant is revealed to be Wade after Mark is shot dead by a federal marshal. A third ending slightly reverses the characters' location and switches some names, and ends with the assistant being interviewed by "Wilford Warfstache". In the fourth ending, the assistant enter a tunnel with the end light taking shape of an alien. In the fifth ending, An inmate named Yancy helps the assistant escape Happy Trails and they go their separate ways; the box is given to the assistant. He opens the box with the Universal Skeleton Key, which can unlock any lock types. The other two endings reveal the two joining with the other inmates, living normally.

Cast[]

• Mark Fischbach as Mark / Darkiplier / Wilford Warfstache / Illinois / Inmate Yancy / Captain Magnum / Ending Narrator
• Rosanna Pansino as Scientist (Prof. Beauregard)
• Matthew Patrick as the Hermit
• Chance Morris as Soldier Ed
• Gavin Free as Security Guard 1
• Dan Gruchy as Security Guard 2
• Arin Hanson as Alien 1
• Dan Avidan as Alien 2
• Ethan Nestor as Heapass / Zombethan
• Tyler Schied as Zombyler
• Bob Muyskens as Security Guard 3 / Bob / Bubba
• Wade Barnes as Security Guard 4 / Wade / Wubba
• Mick Lauer as Warden Murder Slaughter
• Michael Gregory as Bam Bam
• Andrew Gregory as Sparkles McGhee
• Kathryn Knutsen as The Producer
• Jason C. Campbell as Jimmy the Pickle / Pirate Goon
• Bri Marie Korin as Mark Stunt Double
• Holt Boggs as Prison Guard
• Lori Z. Cordova as Prison Processing Guard
• Mo Alfy as Burning Truck Driver
• Iba Thiam as Guide

Production[]

In 2017, Fischbach created an interactive YouTube video, uploaded on Valentine's Day where the viewer could go on a date with him and make choices which affect said date, and can result in one of ten endings. The short gained over 90 million views on the platform,^[2] and inspired Fischbach to create A Heist with Markiplier. The line, "You wanna go on that date?," which was spoken in one of the endings of the short, suggests that the events of A Heist with Markiplier take place before A Date with Markiplier.

In late 2018, Fischbach wrote the script for A Heist with Markiplier, which in contrast to the original, had a total of 31 endings.^[2][3] He partnered up with Rooster Teeth to film it, and production was funded by YouTube Premium, who also distributed the film, due to wanting their own interactive-video-project.^[4][5]

Production started in Austin, Texas. Fischbach reprised his role as Mark, and internet personalities Rosanna Pansino, Matthew Patrick and Chance Morris joined the cast in main roles. Filming began in May 2019 and finished in June 2019.^[6]

Reception[]

Critical response[]

A Heist with Markiplier was received very well by critics. In a review for the Clark Chronicle, Griselda Eychaner said, "That’s what sets this series apart from everything else on YouTube: it’s made for the viewer. The story is what you decide it should be. And it will go in a completely nonsensical direction no matter what you choose, so you can pretty much do what you want without fear of consequences."^[7]

Controversy[]

On November 6, 2019, a week after the film was released, Fischbach screened an interactive livestream on YouTube of the movie. Paid subscribers to his channel could navigate the choices of the movie with special emotes of a red paddle and a green paddle. The stream was supposed to be an interactive experience, but YouTube ended up banning hundreds of accounts watching the stream that "spammed" the emotes.^[8] It wasn't until nearly an hour and a half into the stream that the moderators noticed the problem.^[9]

Many YouTube users, and Fischbach himself,^[10] were upset about the situation. Fischbach explained that accounts weren't just getting banned; subscriptions were disappearing, content was being deleted, and it wasn't just YouTube accounts being deleted. Entire Google accounts were being terminated, and many users who filed appeals to get their accounts back had them denied.^[9] Eventually the accounts were reinstated.^[11]

Eventually, on November 11, 2019, Fischbach released a statement saying that he spoke with YouTube about the issue, and it was being worked on.^[12]

Awards and nominations[]

Sequel[]

After the success of A Heist with Markiplier, Fischbach teased the idea of a sequel in a December 2019 interview. He said, "If I do it again, and I might, I would wanna do it in an even better way than I did this time. And I have no idea what that means, and I have no idea how to say that, but, you know, if I did it again I would wanna surpass what I've already made."^[14]

In November 2020, after the channel Unus Annus was deleted, he confirmed in the video "Unus Annus - Post Mortem" that a sequel was in development.^[15]

After months of updates on writing the project, Fischbach announced that he had travelled back to Austin to film the sequel. On September 3, 2021, Fischbach announced that its title would be In Space with Markiplier.^[16]

References[]

External links[]

• A Heist with Markiplier at IMDb
• A Heist with Markiplier at Rotten Tomatoes