Jeremy Strong is reportedly set to portray Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Network Part II, bringing a darker, introspective edge to the tech mogul’s role (Shutterstock)
The Social Network Part II: Over ten years after the first installment of The Social Network that deciphered the genesis of Facebook, the anticipated sequel just threatens to switch lessons away from 'how it was created' to 'how irresponsible it has become'. The Social Network Part II, once again penned by Aaron Sorkin, is focused mainly on the ethics-moral and societal consequences of Facebook's step from being just a campus idea into a global tech powerhouse.
Opening its audience toward the source of The Facebook Files, the internal documents leaked by whistleblower Frances Haugen, the movie will tackle how those platforms ripple the splash of algorithms in amplifying misinformation, harming teenagers' mental health, and shaping political unrest like the one revolving around the Capitol disturbance. Within the sequel, it's not a setting; it's not a mere backdrop.
The Social Network Part II by Aaron Sorkin might have discovered its promising leads. Jeremy Allen White and Mikey Madison are early contenders, according to sources who spoke to Deadline. White is being considered for the position of Wall Street Journal writer Jeff Horwitz, while Madison is being considered for the whistleblower position. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Jeremy Strong is also in the queue, perhaps replacing Jesse Eisenberg in the Oscar-nominated 2010 movie as Mark Zuckerberg. Insiders clarify, though, that no formal offers have been made as of yet.
In a somewhat odd arrangement, Jeremy Strong, who has just received an accolade for his Emmy-winning performance in Succession, has been touted to step into Mark Zuckerberg's shoes to replace Jesse Eisenberg, who has not been considered returning. Strong, probably best remembered from his work with Sorkin in Molly's Game, lends a more intense brooding energy to the intrinsic darkness of the sequel.
Rumours are rife suggesting that the cast may also have Mikey Madison cast, playing possibly Haugen while Jeremy Allen White is in conversations to portray journalist Jeff Horwitz-the Wall Street Journal reporter who uncovered the Facebook Files story. Clearly, these casting decisions tilt toward character-driven tension, portraying not just the tech empire but the human cost behind its decisions.
What one should expect from Sorkin's forthcoming movie is an entirely reframed perspective on Facebook-not as or with innovation but unbridled digital states. Indeed, the sequel centers on whistle blowing, internal ethics, and political fallout, and so it examines what power thought to be wielded by a few tech barons can do to billions of users.
"The polarizing discourse of the citizenry is partly on Facebook, and so is January 6," Sorkin publicly said about the cause for the sequel's being conceived. The sequel is thus not another continuation but rather a cultural critique.
Though production and release dates are nowhere near confirmed, The Social Network Part II is already creating massive waves. Coming at a time when the tech world is getting all eyes scrutinizing him more closely from different quarters, by regulators and also from the public as well, if the first one was about the birth of a digital empire, this one may tell how it was slowly being buried-because progress without accountability comes at a steep price.
