Warning: Spoilers for Five Nights at Freddy’s!
After scrapping his cameo in the Five Nights at Freddy’s movie, Markiplier has the potential to fill a much better role in the sequel. The film adaptation of the wildly popular video game series has finally arrived on the big screen. Five Nights at Freddy’s follows a night guard named Mike Schmidt, who learns that the animatronics at Freddy Fazbear’s come to life, posing a threat to him and his loved ones. Alongside the excellent main cast, many YouTubers made cameos in Five Nights at Freddy’s. Mark Fischbach – better known by his online pseudonym Markiplier – was one of the original YouTubers intended to appear.
Markiplier’s cameo would’ve been fitting since his Let’s Play videos helped make the video game franchise a massive pop culture phenomenon. Between the release of the first game and the movie, Markiplier made 125 videos playing FNAF games, which are available in a playlist on his channel. The playlist has over 400 million streams as of the end of October 2023, showing his influence. Unfortunately, the YouTuber had to drop out of the project due to scheduling conflicts. While this is disappointing for fans of the video game franchise, it opens up the possibility that he could take on a much bigger role in Five Nights at Freddy’s 2‘s story.
The Reason Markiplier’s Cameo Was Cut From Five Nights At Freddy’s Is Great
While he was initially slated to appear in the movie, Markiplier’s Five Nights at Freddy‘s cameo was cut for an admirable reason for dropping out of the film. He simply didn’t have the time to film a cameo. The YouTuber was hard at work on a film adaptation of the indie horror game Iron Lung created by David Szymanski. Markiplier previously directed and acted in numerous YouTube Original films colloquially referred to as the “With Markiplier” movies. However, this is his first time working on a feature-length film intended for theatrical release. His previous projects also leaned into comedic acting instead of dramatic acting.
By turning down this cameo, Markiplier had more time to focus on his craft and hone his acting skills. If he plans on moving into filmmaking, whether in front or behind the camera, this is the right choice for his career. Markiplier stated in a July YouTube livestream, “Hollywood, in general, barely gives me the time of day.” A cameo would be fun but ultimately fleeting. His role in Iron Lung could prove to Hollywood that he’s a capable dramatic actor though, opening up doors for future projects. It could also be his breakthrough as a professional director.
Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 Could Cast Markiplier As A Key Video Game Character
There is currently no news about Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, but the sequel is almost guaranteed based on the box office success and fan response. Since Iron Lung is in post-production, there’s a good chance Markiplier would be done with the film by the time the second movie starts production. This lines up perfectly for Markiplier to play a key video game character – Jeremy Fitzgerald. The second Five Nights at Freddy’s game centers on Jeremy, the new night guard at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza.
While this casting seems risky based on Markiplier’s newness to dramatic feature-length films, he’s already shown some of his acting abilities in his YouTube original movies. If his performance in Iron Lung also goes well, this could make him a more secure option for the sequel. His presence would also make fans of the franchise happy since he couldn’t do his cameo in Five Nights at Freddy’s.
Sources: YouTube, SAG-AFTRA
