When Aaron Sorkin came across Jesse Eisenberg while working on The Social Reckoning, he asked him to return as Mark Zuckerberg. Sorkin, whose screenplay for The Social Network (2010) earned him an Oscar, had already finished the script before reaching out to Eisenberg. He said he was “just a couple of pages from being done” with it when they met, and Eisenberg smiled and nodded at the idea. But his enthusiasm was short-lived; Eisenberg turned down the request.
“It never occurred to me that he wouldn’t wanna do it,” Sorkin said. “Money does not motivate Jesse. It’s infuriating.”
Sorkin’s Surprise
Sorkin explained that “it never occurred” to him that Eisenberg wouldn’t want to reprise his portrayal of Meta mogul Mark Zuckerberg in the sequel, which premieres Oct. 9 in theaters. He knew what the studio was offering Eisenberg to do it, but he believed the money wasn’t the issue.
“If anything, money is a disincentive for him. It’s admirable. He’s very concerned about raising his kids with too much money,” Sorkin said.
The Outline Sorkin Wrote
Sorkin spent a three-day weekend trying to get Eisenberg back before he eventually cast Jeremy Strong as Zuckerberg last September. He prepared himself with an outline for the talks.
“This is the only time I’ve written myself an outline. I don’t do it for the movies, but I did it for my conversations with Jesse,” he noted. “It was arguments for why he should do it. They included:
- ‘We already know you’re gonna be great because you were already once.’
- ‘Here are the great moments that you’re gonna get to play in the movie.’
And I laid it out for him.”
“He just doesn’t like being conflated with Mark Zuckerberg anymore. He doesn’t like that he kinda resembles the guy physically; that role is probably what he’s most known for.”
Why Eisenberg Said No
Sorkin said the core problem was simple: Eisenberg doesn’t want to be confused with the man he played. He doesn’t like the physical resemblance, and he doesn’t want that role to define him.
“He just doesn’t like being conflated with Mark Zuckerberg anymore. He doesn’t like that he kinda resembles the guy physically; that role is probably what he’s most known for,” Sorkin said.
What The Sequel Covers
The original Social Network recounted Zuckerberg’s creation of Facebook and the controversy that followed. The Social Reckoning picks up later, focusing on a 2021 document leak that exposed the harm Facebook caused on society.
The movie follows a Facebook engineer named Frances Haugen, played by Mikey Madison, who hands over the social media company’s most closely protected secrets to a Wall Street Journal reporter named Jeff Horwitz, played by Jeremy Allen White. Bill Burr, Wunmi Mosaku, Billy Magnussen and Betty Gilpin round out the cast.
The Studio’s Offer
The studio had a proposal for Eisenberg, and Sorkin was aware of what it entailed. Money, however, wasn’t the obstacle in his estimation.
“He’s very concerned about raising his kids with too much money,” Sorkin said. “Money is a disincentive for him.”
Moving Forward With Strong
Strong plays Zuckerberg again in the sequel, while Eisenberg’s smile and nod stay with the audience as a reminder of a conversation that went nowhere.
The story is over, and the film carries on.
Source material: “Aaron Sorkin Says “It Never Occurred To Me” That Jesse Eisenberg Wouldn’t Want To Return For ‘The Social Reckoning’,” Deadline.
Get the Notebook.
The day's best stories and every fresh verdict, in plain English, in your inbox by seven. One email a day, no more.