Aaron Sorkin is revealing the reason why Jesse Eisenberg declined to reprise his role as Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Reckoning.
During a recent interview with Vanity Fair, Sorkin — who penned the 2010 Oscar-winning film The Social Network and wrote and directed the upcoming sequel — shared that he spent three days trying to convince Eisenberg to return for the follow-up pic.
“I felt like it belonged to him, and he was certainly battle-tested,” he said. The A Real Pain actor-director earned an Oscar nomination for best lead actor for his portrayal of the Facebook founder in The Social Network.
However, the actor couldn’t be persuaded. “He simply did not want to be conflated with Mark Zuckerberg anymore, that he has his problems with the guy,” Sorkin explained. “He doesn’t like kids coming up to him in airports with business cards that say ‘I’m CEO, bitch’ for him to sign.”
Last year, when asked why he wasn’t returning for the second film, Eisenberg said on the Today show, “Listen, for reasons that have nothing to do with how amazing that movie will be, really, truthfully. But when you play a character, you feel, at some point, you’ve grown into something else.”
Jeremy Strong has since taken over the leading role in The Social Reckoning, which just released its first trailer.
VF reported that the filmmaker first mentioned the sequel’s script to Eisenberg at the 2025 Vanity Fair Oscar Party, which is where he also ran into Strong. It was in that moment that The Apprentice actor pitched himself for the role of Zuckerberg if Eisenberg declined.
Once filming began, Sorkin said the Succession actor “followed his lead. He showed up on his first day, and when he said ‘good morning’ to me, he was already talking like Mark.”
The Social Reckoning, also starring Jeremy Allen White, Mikey Madison, Betty Gilpin and Patrick Fischler, hits theaters on Oct. 9.