Sixteen years after The Social Network explored the creation of Facebook, writer-director Aaron Sorkin is returning to Mark Zuckerberg’s social media empire with a new film examining its impact on extremism, political division and modern society. “ The Social Reckoning ”, which Sony Pictures is set to release on October 9, focuses on what Facebook has become rather than how it was created. Sorkin said the film aims to entertain audiences while also leaving them concerned about the influence of social media. “ The Social Network was about the invention of Facebook. Social Reckoning is about what it’s become and, in particular, Facebook’s role in the rise of extremism and divisiveness, ” Sorkin said. The film arrives as Zuckerberg and Meta face growing scrutiny over the role of their platforms in politics and society. Sony released the trailer last week on the same day Meta agreed to pay up to $18 billion in penalties over allegations that its platform endangered children. Sorkin said he began considering the project around 2019, when he wrote an opinion piece addressed to Zuckerberg criticising Facebook’s decision to stop fact-checking political advertisements. He later became increasingly critical of the company, saying he blamed Facebook for contributing to the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol. The project gained momentum after Sorkin met Frances Haugen, a former Facebook data scientist who became a whistleblower, and Wall Street Journal reporter Jeff Horwitz, whose reporting examined the company’s internal practices. Sorkin said he initially feared returning to one of his best-known films, comparing the prospect to making a sequel to Jaws. He ultimately decided the story was too compelling to abandon. The Social Reckoning stars Mikey Madison as Haugen, who testified before Congress in 2021 that Facebook prioritised profit over public safety through its algorithms. Jeremy Allen White plays Horwitz, while Jeremy Strong portrays Zuckerberg, replacing Jesse Eisenberg, who played the Facebook co-founder in the 2010 film. Eisenberg declined to reprise the role, telling Sorkin that he did not want to be continually associated with Zuckerberg despite his affection for The Social Network. Strong, meanwhile, contacted Zuckerberg while preparing for the role and, according to Sorkin, often defended the billionaire in emails during filming. Sorkin said he has never met Zuckerberg and does not claim to understand how the Meta chief thinks, but has instead sought to examine the consequences of his decisions. The new film follows a broader wave of Hollywood projects examining powerful technology figures. Alex Gibney’s documentary Musk is due to arrive on October 16, while Luca Guadagnino’s Artificial explores the story of OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman. The Social Reckoning also comes as Facebook’s reach has expanded dramatically since The Social Network was released in 2010. The platform now has about 3 billion users, compared with roughly 500 million when the earlier film came out. Sorkin said Zuckerberg’s creation had effectively built a new social structure in which people can construct identities and communicate in ways they may find more comfortable than in everyday life.
Aaron Sorkin returns to Facebook with ‘The Social Reckoning’
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