Jesse Eisenberg has shed light on his choice not to reprise the role of Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Reckoning.
The actor famously played the Facebook co-founder and future Meta CEO in 2010’s The Social Network, which follows the founding of the social media platform and earned Eisenberg an Oscar nomination.
Writer Aaron Sorkin returns to pen and direct the upcoming follow-up – taking over the latter role from David Fincher – with the film described as a “spiritual successor” to the original. Succession’s Jeremy Strong replaces Eisenberg in the role of Zuckerberg.
Opening up about his reasons for deciding not to return, Eisenberg recalled a days-long discussion with Sorkin about a potential comeback.
“It’s an honour to speak to Aaron in any capacity, because he’s so articulate and charming and so bright,” he told Variety. “We talked about doing the movie for several days. The way Aaron speaks, he speaks so wonderfully, as he writes that, in a way, if you’re not going to do something with him, it feels almost like you’re letting down America.”
He further explained: “I just told him I’m moving in different directions in my life, and you know, what he said sums it up nicely. I don’t want to be associated with that character, but all of my reasons for not wanting to do the movie have nothing to do with how wonderful the movie is, and will be, and I’m sure is already.”
Sorkin recently said similar about Eisenberg’s reasoning, explaining that 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,” he added to Vanity Fair.
Last year, Eisenberg distanced himself from “problematic” Zuckerberg in an interview on BBC Radio 4, saying: “I’m a human being and you read these things and these people have billions upon billions of dollars, more money than any human person has ever amassed. And what are they doing with it? Oh, they’re doing it to curry favour with somebody who’s preaching hateful things.”
The Social Reckoning focuses on whistleblower Frances Haugen (Mikey Madison) and Wall Street Journal journalist Jeff Horwitz’s (Jeremy Allen White) expose into harmful Meta practices in 2021, known as the Facebook Files. The film is also said to address the January 6 riots, where Donald Trump’s supporters attacked the US Capitol, which Sorkin has spoken about in the past.
The trailer for The Social Reckoning recently dropped, showcasing Strong in character as Zuckerberg, with the actor receiving praise for his transformation into the role.
“Must a movie have a ‘good script’ or ‘coherent storyline’ when it has Jeremy Strong in a transformational supporting role dogwalking everyone?” said one person, another exclaiming: “Holy shit.”