Aaron Sorkin is not finished telling the Facebook story. The Academy Award winner is developing “The Social Network Part II” at Sony Pictures.
Sorkin has written a screenplay and is set to direct the follow-up to the 2010 film “The Social Network,” helmed by David Fincher, which chronicled the creation and early days of Facebook, which has grown to become the world’s largest social media platform. Sorkin’s sequel is based on the Wall Street Journal’s “The Facebook Files,” a series of articles authored by Jeff Horowitz and published in October 2021, which further exposed the inner workings of the company.
Jesse Eisenberg starred as Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg in “The Social Network,” but casting has yet to be announced for the sequel. Part 2 is in development with Todd Black, Peter Rice, Sorkin and Stuart Besser producing.
The original film was a critical and commercial hit, earning $226 million at the global box office and receiving eight Academy Award nominations, including best picture. Sorkin’s win for best adapted screenplay (the film was loosely based on Ben Mezrich’s book “The Accidental Billionaires”) was one of three Oscars it ultimately took home.
In recent years, Sorkin has openly discussed his intentions of making a sequel. He started floating the idea in 2021, saying, “what has been going on with Facebook these last few years is a story very much worth telling,” but around this time, he suggested that a sequel would only move forward if Fincher agreed to direct it. Then, during a live recording of “The Town” podcast last year, Sorkin confirmed that he’d begun writing about the social media company’s recent dealings.
“I blame Facebook for January 6,” Sorkin said, though he would not answer why he blamed Facebook for Trump supporters storming the U.S. Capitol. Instead, he teased: “You’re going to need to buy a movie ticket.”
Sorkin was more forthcoming about what he was trying to write about, saying: “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.”
Deadline was first to report news of the forthcoming project.
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