It Looks Like a Sequel to 'The Social Network' Is on Its Way 15 Years After the Initial Oscar-Winning Film
After winning the Best Adapted Screenplay Academy Award for the first movie, Aaron Sorkin is returning, and not just writing but also directing.
When The Social Network arrived in cinemas in 2010 with its can't-look-away performance from Jesse Eisenberg (A Real Pain) as Mark Zuckerberg, David Fincher's (The Killer) steely direction and Aaron Sorkin's (Being the Ricardos) incisive script, it was firmly an origin story. As the world knew even then just six years after Facebook's founding, however, the platform was only just getting started. As a result, a sequel to the three-time Oscar-winning movie — including for Sorkin's screenplay — has always felt like a matter of when not if. Cue The Social Network Part II, which is now reportedly in the works.
Deadline has revealed that the follow-up looks set to move forward, with Sorkin back to lead the charge. This time, he's not just writing but also directing. While Fincher is also in sequel mode at the moment, he's stepping into Once Upon a Time in Hollywood's realm, helming the Brad Pitt (F1)-starring follow-up to Quentin Tarantino's also Oscar-winning picture.
It's expected that The Social Network Part II will use the Wall Street Journal's 'The Facebook Files' article series from October 2021 as its basis — which means that the platform's impacts, and those of fellow Meta-owned social-media service Instagram, could be in the spotlight.
There's no word yet on a release date, so when you'll be seeing the film on the big screen is yet to be revealed. In the same category: The Social Network Part II's cast. Whether Eisenberg will step back into Zuckerberg's shoes — and into a role that's among the most pivotal in the early days of his career, as also proved true for co-star Andrew Garfield (We Live in Time) — is not yet known, then.
Alongside creating the small screen's Sports Night, The West Wing, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip and The Newsroom, Sorkin has directed three films so far: Molly's Game, The Trial of the Chicago 7 and Being the Ricardos. The first two on that list also saw him nominated for screenwriting Oscars.
Among the initial The Social Network's accolades: the Oscar for Best Original Score for Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. There's no word yet whether The Social Network Part II will boast their efforts again to help cement an unsettling tone.
There's obviously no trailer so far for the The Social Network Part II — but check out the trailers to The Social Network above, plus its first ten minutes below:
The Social Network Part II doesn't yet have a release date — we'll update you with more details when they're announced.