10 hours ago
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
Get ready for ‘The Social Network II,' a sequel Facebook doesn't want you to see
Aaron Sorkin says he is writing and directing a sequel to ' The Social Network,' the Silicon Valley-set 2010 film about the founding of Facebook that won the prolific screenwriter an Oscar for best adapted screenplay.
Tentatively titled 'The Social Network Part II,' the movie will be based on a series of articles published in the Wall Street Journal in 2021 called 'The Facebook Files.' The reporting revealed that the social media company, headquartered in Menlo Park and now called Meta, was aware of the harm that Facebook and its sister app Instagram could cause to teenagers. It also found that company leaders knew about the apps' role in spreading disinformation that could incite political violence, but continued to prioritize profits instead.
Sorkin reportedly struggled for years to write the sequel to the Oscar-nominated film, which earned eight nods and won for Trent Reznor's score and Kirk Baxter's editing. He finally found inspiration following the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, which he blames partly on Facebook, according to Deadline.
The new film is expected to address not just the 2020 election but also Facebook's affect on teens, preteens, violence and countries outside the U.S.
'The Social Network,' directed by David Fincher, starred Jesse Eisenberg as Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Andrew Garfield as co-founder Eduardo Saverin — roles that vaulted both actors to stardom.
In 2024, the film was selected for preservation by the Library of Congress National Film Registry for its 'cultural, historical, and aesthetic contributions.'
Sorkin, creator of the hit television series ' The West Wing ' (1999-2006), has turned to directing in recent years with such films as ' Molly's Game ' (2017), ' The Trial of the Chicago 7 ' (2020) and ' Being the Ricardos ' (2021).
