The Social Reckoning: why Jesse Eisenberg refused to play Mark Zuckerberg again

The Social Network actor will not be in the cast of this sequel, where he has been replaced by Jeremy Strong. Yet director Aaron Sorkin tried everything.

Scheduled for October 7 in France (at the cinema), The Social Reckoning is a true/false sequence of The Social Network by David Fincher. Screenwriter of the latter, Aaron Sorkin returns this time as director. In an interview given to Vanity Fairhe says he logically tried to bring back Jesse Eisenberg in the role of Mark Zuckerberg. But nothing happened as he intended: “ I had the feeling that this role belonged to him, and he had already largely proven himself. But he just didn’t want to be confused with Mark Zuckerberg anymore, and he has his own issues with him. He doesn’t like it when kids stop him at airports with business cards marked “I’m CEO, bitch” for him to sign. » Understandable.

Sorkin therefore turned to Jeremy Strong, known for his visceral approach to the game. And unsurprisingly, the actor of Succession was literally transformed from the start of filming: “I let myself be guided by him. He arrived the first day, and when he said ‘hello’ to me, he already sounded like Mark. And despite the subject, Sorkin claims to have approached Zuckerberg like any other character, refusing easy caricature. “ I can’t judge Mark Zuckerberg as I write “, he explains. “ You have to write this character as if he is pleading his case before God to be allowed into heaven. »

The film returns to the true story of Frances Haugen (played by Mikey Madison), a former Facebook engineer who became a whistleblower, and the journalist from Wall Street Journal Jeff Horwitz (Jeremy Allen White), whose investigations revealed internal company documents. Their work gave birth to the “Facebook Files” in 2021, a series of explosive articles highlighting the network’s harmful effects on teenagers, as well as its role in the spread of misinformation, including content linked to political violence.

Watch the trailer for The Social Reckoning :