The Social Network 2 Finally Happening?
Movie buffs fondly remember The Social Network, with dialogue by Aaron Sorkin and direction by David Fincher. This movie made the early days of Facebook seem downright exciting even as it shone a spotlight on the seedy underbelly of tech bro culture. Critics agreed, and the film did well at the Academy Awards, ultimately taking home Oscars for Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Score, and Best Film Editing. Now, we could see this magic return again. Aaron Sorkin is currently working on a kind of spiritual The Social Network 2, a movie focusing on how Facebook threatens our democracy.
Sorkin Downplayed Plans For The Social Network 2
Interestingly, Sorkin didn’t go out of his way to announce plans for this movie. Instead, it came up when he appeared on The Town podcast and received a question about how social media has affected democracy since The Social Network came out back in 2010. In response, Sorkin, never a stranger to controversy said, “Look, yeah, I’ll be writing about this,” followed by a very stark statement: “I blame Facebook for January 6.”
The Sequel Will Tackle Difficult Topics
That leads to the obvious question. How would Sorkin’s The Social Network 2 actually tackle the prickly topic of Donald Trump’s supporters storming the American capitol? When this question was posed to Sorkin, the savvy writer claimed that everyone would have to buy a movie ticket to discover the answer. When pressed for more details, though, Sorkin began discussing some of his problems with social media that most of us share.
Facebook Might Be The Focus Of The Movie
For example, Sorkin says he has been trying to write about Facebook because the social media platform “has been, among other things, tuning its algorithm to promote the most divisive material possible.” He says this is intentional “because that is what will increase engagement,” and the company’s executives want users to get stuck in “the infinite scroll.” Chief among them is Zuckerberg, who might or might not be played by Jesse Eisenberg in The Social Network 2.
Sorkin Wants To Focus On The Dangers Of Social Media
The reason this is up in the air is because most of what Sorkin has been describing would be part of a spiritual sequel rather than a literal one. Additionally, the writer had previously worked on a script for a completely different film related to the January 6 attacks, but that film is no longer moving forward. Reading between the lines, it seems likely Sorkin wants to incorporate some of his canceled film’s messaging into a larger movie that centers on the dangers of social media, one that may is more in the vein of The Social Network than a true sequel.
Jesse Eisenberg May Return For The Social Network 2
With that being said, it still seems like there’s a chance we’ll have a version of The Social Network 2 that brings back Eisenberg as Zuckerberg and reexamines the famous figure’s life in light of the world he helped mold (algorithm by algorithm) to his image.
Previously, Sorkin said that he’d be up for writing a sequel that explicitly examines “the dark side” of Facebook, but he’d only want to move forward with such a project if David Fincher would return to direct. Right now, Fincher seems to have a lot on his plate, but we can only hope he’d reunite with Sorkin to go after the monster Facebook has become.
The Movie Should Touch On Zuckerberg’s Responsibility
This would be particularly rewarding because as much as Sorkin dislikes Facebook in general, he particularly sees creator Mark Zuckerberg as someone who could do more to focus the company on “integrity” rather than endless “growth” that comes by pitting people against each other.
Given how the first film helped humanize this complex public figure, it would be fascinating to see The Social Network 2 dive into more of how Zuckerberg is potentially responsible for insane actions taken by his users. Who knows… maybe the movie could do as much for Zuckerberg’s public image as that fake picture of him with a beard did.
Source: The Town Podcast
