Aaron Sorkin Is Planning a The Social Network Follow-Up: ‘I Blame Facebook for January 6’
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More than a decade after Aaron Sorkin put a spotlight on the founding of Facebook in David Fincher’s The Social Network, the writer confirmed he’s planning on a follow-up.
Sorkin said as much during an appearance on The Town with Matthew Belloni podcast, where he added another interesting tidbit: the focus could be on the platform’s role in the modern political landscape.
“Look, yeah, I’ll be writing about this,” Sorkin said when asked how social media has impacted democracy in recent years. “I blame Facebook for January 6.”
When asked why, Sorkin responded, “you’re gonna need to buy a movie ticket.” Host Matt Belloni then asked if Sorkin was indeed writing a movie about it, to which Sorkin answered, “I’m trying.”
“Facebook has been, among other things, tuning its algorithm to promote the most divisive material possible,” he said. “Because that is what will increase engagement. That is what will get you to — what they call inside the hallways of Facebook — ‘the infinite scroll.’ “
“There’s supposed to be a constant tension at Facebook between growth and integrity. There isn’t,” he continued. “There’s just growth. If Mark Zuckerberg woke up tomorrow morning and realized there is nothing you can buy for $120 billion that you can’t buy for $119 billion dollars, ‘So how about if I make a little bit less money? I will tune up integrity and tune down growth.’ Yes, you can do that by switching a one to a zero.”
“Look, yeah, I’ll be writing about this. I blame Facebook for January 6.
Additionally, sources close to Sorkin told THR that he’s indeed working on a “Social Network-adjacent” script, although stressed that it’s still early days.
While this is this most concrete confirmation we’ve gotten that Sorkin’s working on it, this isn’t the first time he’s talked about tackling a follow-up to his 2010 hit. In a 2019 interview with AP Entertainment, Sorkin said “there should be a sequel,” also confirming that producer Scott Rudin had contacted him about it.
“A lot of very interesting, dramatic stuff has happened since the movie ends with the settling [of] the lawsuit from the Winklevoss twins and Eduardo Saverin,” he said at the time.
The Social Network, of course, was a huge hit, receiving eight Academy Award nominations and winning three of them, including Best Adapted Screenplay for Sorkin. Directed by Fincher, it starred Jesse Eisenberg as Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, Andrew Garfield as Eduardo Saverin, Justin Timberlake as Sean Parker, and Armie Hammer as Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss.
IGN gave it an 8/10 back in 2010, with Jim Vejvoda calling it “a gripping, expertly made and wonderfully performed character study” and “a very modern story about some very classic themes.”
Alex Stedman is a Senior News Editor with IGN, overseeing entertainment reporting. When she’s not writing or editing, you can find her reading fantasy novels or playing Dungeons & Dragons.
