With its sharp dialogue (“A million dollars isn’t cool. You know what’s cool? A billion dollars.”) and cast of young rising stars (Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Armie Hammer, Justin Timberlake, Rooney Mara, and Max Minghella), The Social Network became a cultural phenomenon almost 16 years ago. The David Fincher–helmed drama earned eight Oscar nominations and won in three categories (adapted screenplay, original score, and editing)—and many would argue that it should have won best picture (that went to The King’s Speech).
So Sorkin, of course, was asked over the years if he’d ever do a follow-up, with the story of Zuckerberg and Facebook going on to reach new heights. For a long time, he said he’d only do it with Fincher back in the directing chair. But when Fincher couldn’t sign on to direct (he’s been working on his Once Upon a Time in…Hollywood spin-off, The Adventures of Cliff Booth, which comes out later this year), the idea came up for Sorkin to direct it himself. Since Molly’s Game in 2017, Sorkin has directed every movie he’s written, but he says The Social Reckoning is the first film he knew he’d be directing while writing the script. Still, Fincher stayed involved. “David, I think, was the first one to read the script,” says Sorkin. “He was just very enthusiastic and eager to help any way he could.”
For Sorkin, who also directed The Trial of the Chicago 7 and Being the Ricardos, the greatest challenge was making sure that he was writing Zuckerberg like any other character—despite his own personal feelings. “I can’t judge Mark Zuckerberg while I’m writing it,” he says. “You’ve got to write that character like they’re making their case to God why they should be allowed into heaven.”
Sorkin did initially bring the role of Zuckerberg to Eisenberg, who was Oscar-nominated for playing the tech entrepreneur in The Social Network. “I felt like it belonged to him, and he was certainly battle-tested,” says Sorkin. He spent three days trying to convince him to reprise his role, but Eisenberg stood firm in his stance. Though the filmmaker says he doesn’t want to speak for Eisenberg, he explains, “He simply did not want to be conflated with Mark Zuckerberg anymore, that he has his problems with the guy. He doesn’t like kids coming up to him in airports with business cards that say ‘I’m CEO, bitch’ for him to sign.”
