Movie News: Aaron Sorkin to write and direct The Social Network Part II, inspired by WSJ's Facebook investigation

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Aaron Sorkin to write and direct​

Jesse Eisenberg has said he'd be interested in playing Mark Zuckerberg again.

By Raechal Shewfelt

Published on June 25, 2025 07:00PM EDT
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Jesse Eisenberg as Mark Zuckerberg in 'The Social Network'

Jesse Eisenberg as Mark Zuckerberg in 'The Social Network'.Credit:
Merrick Morton/Columbia Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection
Aaron Sorkin is logging back in to Facebook.


Fourteen years after winning an Oscar for The Social Network, Sorkin is set to write and direct a follow-up film catching up with Mark Zuckerberg's tech behemoth, Entertainment Weekly has confirmed.


The Social Network Part II is set up at Sony Pictures and will draw inspiration from the Wall Street Journal's 2021 investigation "The Facebook Files," which alleged, based on internal documents and employee discussions, that the company had long known there were problems with its platforms that inflicted real-world harm but had done nothing to correct them.


Deadline Hollywood first reported the sequel news.


'The Social Network' star Jesse Eisenberg on why he doesn’t want to be associated with Mark Zuckerberg
Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Zuckerberg

Andrew Garfield, Jesse Eisenberg have 'Social Network' reunion at Oscars after-party
Andrew Garfield and Jesse Eisenberg Vanity Fair Oscar Party, Arrivals, Los Angeles, California, USA - 02 Mar 2025


Released in 2010, the original Social Network is based on Ben Mezrich's book The Accidental Billionaires, chronicling Facebook's creation at Harvard University and the ensuing legal battle between Zuckerberg and co-founder Eduardo Saverin. The cast includes Jesse Eisenberg as Zuckerberg, Andrew Garfield as Saverin, Justin Timberlake as Sean Parker, and Armie Hammer as twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss.


The film was nominated for eight Oscars, including Best Picture, and won three: Best Adapted Screenplay for Sorkin, plus Best Original Score and Best Film Editing.


Sorkin, whose other screen credits include The West Wing, A Few Good Men, and Steve Jobs, has previously expressed interest in a project addressing what's gone on with Facebook in the years since.


On an episode of The Town podcast last year, Sorkin said he holds the company responsible for much of the divisiveness that pervades the modern world. "I blame Facebook for Jan. 6," Sorkin said.


Aaron Sorkin at the 2025 Astra TV Awards

Aaron Sorkin at the 2025 Astra TV Awards.
Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty
He added, "Facebook has been, among other things, tuning its algorithm to promote the most divisive material possible. Because that is what will increase engagement. That is what will get you to — what they call inside the hallways of Facebook — 'the infinite scroll' … There's supposed to be a constant tension at Facebook between growth and integrity. There isn't. It's just growth."


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While Oscar-nominated director David Fincher will not be back to helm The Social Network Part II, Eisenberg has said in the past that he'd like to portray Zuckerberg again.


"Oh, yeah," Eisenberg said of a potential sequel in a 2019 interview with IndieWire. "To play a good role in a popular thing is very rare. This was an opportunity to play a complicated character that you'd normally play onstage or an art film, but on a big scale. For me, that was incredibly fortunate."
 
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