‘The Social Reckoning’ Tease: Jeremy Strong Becomes Mark Zuckerberg in Aaron Sorkin’s Pseudo-Sequel About Facebook Backlash

Nothing about “The Social Network,” David Fincher’s 2010 business drama about Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, suggested it was the kind of movie that lent itself to a sequel.

But, at the time, it would have been near impossible to predict the impact that Zuckerberg’s company would have on the next 15 years of global events. From its acquisition of Instagram and our evolving discussions about the app’s corrosive effects on teenagers’ mental health to larger concerns about Facebook’s inadequate response to misinformation that has helped swing global elections, the most consequential events in the company’s history arguably took place long after “The Social Network” was released.

Rumors of some kind of sequel covering the controversies surrounding the company now known as Meta have circulated for years, finally materializing in the form of “The Social Reckoning.” The new movie sees Aaron Sorkin, who won an Adapted Screenplay Oscar for the original film, returning to both pen the script and take over directing duties from Fincher. Jesse Eisenberg is not returning as Zuckerberg, with Jeremy Strong taking over his iconic role.

All of which is to say that Sorkin’s “The Social Reckoning” isn’t quite a sequel, but shares some key DNA with “The Social Network.” The film primarily focuses on the 2021 leak of Meta’s internal documents (colloquially known as The Facebook Files), by whistleblower Frances Haugen (played by Mikey Madison in her first role since winning an Oscar for “Anora”). The uniqueness of the situation, with the film clearly being billed as a companion to “The Social Network” despite key cast members changing, has left cinephiles with plenty of questions about the film.

Sony attempted to answer some of those questions at its annual presentation at CinemaCon on Monday afternoon.

Strong as Zuckerberg will turn a whole lot of heads, giving an intense performance in the teaser trailer that the CinemaCon crowd saw. Strong looked dead-eyed and focused, with a careful speech cadence that matches what Zuckerberg has become. He says in the trailer that he’s far from the “dorm room” days, and that when he says the conversation is over, it’s over. Sorkin was on stage to talk about the film, saying Facebook’s influence “has reshaped everything” since he made the first film about the dream of a social network that “exploded into a global corporation.”

The film also stars Jeremy Allen White as a journalist investigating a tip from Madison, as well as Wunmi Mosaku, Betty Gilpin, Billy Magnussen, and Bill Burr.

Sony will release “The Social Reckoning” in theaters on Friday, October 9.