Aaron Sorkin has revealed that he spent three days trying to convince Jesse Eisenberg to return as Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Reckoning, the upcoming sequel to the 2010 hit The Social Network, before ultimately casting Jeremy Strong in the role.

Speaking to Vanity Fair, Sorkin said he initially viewed Eisenberg as the natural choice to reprise the character he famously portrayed in David Fincher’s Oscar-winning drama.

“I felt like it belonged to him, and he was certainly battle-tested,” says Sorkin of originally wanting Eisenberg to reprise his Oscar-nominated role. “He simply did not want to be conflated with Mark Zuckerberg anymore, that he has his problems with the guy. He doesn’t like kids coming up to him in airports with business cards that say ‘I’m CEO, bitch’ for him to sign.”

The comments came as the first trailer for The Social Reckoning dropped earlier this week, offering audiences their first look at Jeremy Strong’s portrayal of the Facebook founder.

Sorkin, who won an Academy Award for writing The Social Network, returns as screenwriter for the sequel and replaces David Fincher in the director’s chair. According to Vanity Fair, the filmmaker first approached Eisenberg about the project at the 2025 Vanity Fair Oscar Party.

“Coincidentally, it was at the 2025 Vanity Fair Oscar Party that Sorkin first mentioned to Eisenberg that he had a script that he wanted him to read. Just a few minutes later, at that same party, he ran into Jeremy Strong, who asked Sorkin what he had been up to, and Sorkin told him about the script. Strong indicated that if Eisenberg wasn’t interested, he would be.”

The Social Reckoning follows former Facebook engineer Frances Haugen, played by Mikey Madison, and Wall Street Journal reporter Jeff Horwitz, portrayed by Jeremy Allen White.

The film chronicles the reporting and disclosures that brought Facebook’s internal research and decision-making practices to light.

A 2021 investigative series revealed Facebook’s harmful effects on teenagers and its role in spreading misinformation, including content linked to political violence. The sequel explores the events surrounding those revelations and their wider consequences.