The first trailer for Aaron Sorkin’s sequel to The Social Network has been released, offering a first look at Jeremy Strong’s portrayal of Mark Zuckerberg. The film, titled The Social Reckoning, is described as a companion piece rather than a direct sequel and is set for release on 9 October. Sorkin both writes and directs, taking over from David Fincher.
Succession star Strong steps into the role of the Facebook CEO, following Jesse Eisenberg’s Oscar-nominated performance in the original. The trailer shows Strong with a red-dyed haircut and a monotone voice that some viewers have praised as hauntingly accurate. However, others questioned why Eisenberg was not brought back for the role.
Mikey Madison, fresh from her Oscar win for Anora, plays Facebook engineer Frances Haugen. She teams up with Wall Street Journal reporter Jeff Horwitz, portrayed by Jeremy Allen White. The trailer’s rapid-fire dialogue, a hallmark of Sorkin, includes lines that caused confusion among viewers, particularly Madison’s character saying: “I ran class fires on political groups where 30 per cent of content hits multiple risk factors.”
Set nearly a decade after the events of The Social Network, the film is based on the 2021 Facebook Files investigation by the Wall Street Journal into the platform’s internal failings. Strong’s Zuckerberg declares in the trailer: “I’m not two years out of a dorm room anymore! Look around!”
The cast also includes Betty Gilpin, Billy Magnussen, Bill Burr and Wunmi Mosaku. Burr plays a character hired to make Zuckerberg more likeable before he faces Congress, lamenting: “I’m happy to lend a hand but I think you’re doomed.”
