A Heist with Markiplier is a 2019 interactivecomedy 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 special 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 special a year later, although production did not start until 2019. The special 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[a] break into a museum to steal an ancient box located in 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 using a bomb and escaping from the vault.
If they choose the sewer, they stumble upon a branch leading to a dark tunnel and a light one. Traveling to the light tunnel brings them to the middle of the ocean, resulting either with the assistant being abducted by pirates, or the pair being stranded on a deserted island, either being abducted by aliens Hanson and Avidan, or joining a potential cannibal. If the assistant chooses the dark tunnel, Mark repeatedly suggests splitting up. This results in Mark's death or disappearance. Only one of the "split up" decisions results in the assistant being confronted by "Darkiplier," who tells them that he has hidden codes in every ending, as well as saying that Mark is a liar snake, leading to the final, 31st ending.[b] If the assistant chooses not to split, the two enter a tunnel inhabited by the "Sewer Cult"; when chaos ensues, the assistant holds Mark over a pit. If they decide to let him go, the assistant escapes the tunnel. If they hang on, they both fall, along with the box from the vault. Mark finds a wormhole device, allowing them to escape and return to the start.
If the assistant chooses to use the bomb instead of the sewer to escape the vault, they and Mark escape and are presented with two getaway options: a helicopter or a car.
If the assistant chooses the helicopter, they are sent to a rehabilitation prison. The assistant can attempt to gain respect from the guards or the prisoners. If they attempt the former, they find themselves unsuccessful and try to do it on their own. In one of the resulting endings, the box contains a fairy that grants wishes, but is confiscated by a prison guard due to its noise. In another ending, Mark is ambushed by Bob, an undercover federal marshal. If the assistant shoots Bob, he takes off a mask to reveal that he is actually Wade. Mark is then shot by the real Bob, who then reveals that the assistant was also Wade all along. The assistant may also open the box, sending them back to the beginning. Refusing to enter a human-shaped hole reverses the roles of Bob and Wade, and travelling back in time results in the assistant being interviewed. Entering the hole, meanwhile, slowly deforms the assistant. If they attempt to gain the respect of the prisoners, inmate Yancy explains that none of the prisoners desire to leave, and asks if they still wish to leave. If they do not want to, they kill another inmate to achieve a life sentence. If they do wish to, Yancy offers assistance.
If the assistant chooses the car instead of the helicopter, Mark tells the assistant that the car broke down amid a ride. He offers options of walking or fix the car. If they decide to fix the car, a sinkhole separates them. The assistant reaches a cave, where a man named Illinois, resembling Indiana Jones, hands the assistant a cursed monkey statue and asks them to place it on a pedestal. If they refuse to place it, the assistant, seemingly possessed by the statue, attacks Illinois. If they place it, they are both briefly transported to the monkey heaven before Illinois leaves them behind.
If they decide to walk instead of fixing the car, a horde of zombies chase them. Unbeknown to Mark, the assistant is bitten by one of the zombies. If they tell the truth, Mark tells them to go away, and the assistant lives with the zombies forever. Otherwise, they are given a choice between finding a scientist or going to a nearby shelter: Fort Brannagan, supposedly the only zombie-proof area. There, Mark and the assistant are inspected for bites by a soldier named Ed. If the assistant tells the truth about their bite, they are shot. If they do not, it is revealed that the fort has been infiltrated by zombies, and that Ed has been bitten, rigging the fort to explode to prevent the virus' spread. Then, the assistant reveals their bite to Mark.
The box from the vault is then revealed to be the "world's oldest picnic basket", and the assistant is given a choice between two ancient foods: a 2000-year-old peanut butter and jelly sandwich or a 17 AD tuna fish sandwich. The former turns the assistant into a relaxed zombie, creating a human-zombie utopia. The latter creates a cure to the zombie virus. At the lab, a scientist explains that an anomaly has caused time and space to warp; she believes the assistant is the anomaly, attempting to kill them. If they attempt to flee, the assistant becomes a zombie, attacking Mark. If they accept their fate, Mark takes the bullet for them, after which it is revealed that the box was the anomaly. As she destroys the box, the branching timeline of the film is briefly shown before returning to the 31st ending, with Mark and the assistant at the beginning, confused on why they are at the museum.
Cast
Mark Fischbach as Mark / Darkiplier / Wilford Warfstache / Illinois / Inmate Yancy / Captain Magnum / Ending Narrator
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
Robert Rexx as Prison Staff
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 special, 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
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 special 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]
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] A trailer was released on March 4, 2022.[17]
In Space with Markiplier consists of two parts. Part 1 was released on April 4, 2022,[18] on the same day as the 10th anniversary of the Markiplier channel, and Part 2 was released on May 2, 2022.[17]
^To reflect the first-person perspective and allow for the viewer to self-insert, the assistant is always referred to with they/them pronouns
^Each ending is numbered out of 31, with an alphanumeric character briefly flashing. If the characters are placed in the numbered order, a password is created that unlocks the film's companion website, revealing behind-the-scenes footage and bloopers
