Jeremy Strong is reportedly the top contender to portray Mark Zuckerberg in the upcoming sequel to The Social Network.
According to Deadline and Variety, sources say Strong—best known for his role in Succession—is the frontrunner to play the Meta CEO and Facebook founder in The Social Network Part II, though no official offer has been made. He would star alongside The Bear‘s Jeremy Allen White and Anora‘s Mikey Madison, whose roles remain undisclosed.
Aaron Sorkin, who won an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for the original film, will write and direct the sequel after years of exploring new angles for the Facebook story. The 2010 film, directed by David Fincher, starred Jesse Eisenberg as Zuckerberg alongside Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake, Armie Hammer, and Rashida Jones.
Unlike the first movie, which chronicled Facebook’s early days in a Harvard dorm, the sequel will reportedly focus on recent controversies surrounding the social media giant. The script will draw from Wall Street Journal reporter Jeff Horowitz’s The Facebook Files series, which exposed internal issues at the company, including suppressed research, its role in the January 6 Capitol riot, and its impact on teen mental health.
Sources suggest White may play Horowitz, while Madison—who recently won an Oscar for Anora—could portray the whistleblower central to the investigation.
Sorkin has hinted at the film’s political undertones, stating in a 2024 podcast, “I blame Facebook for January 6.” He criticized the platform for prioritizing divisive content, adding, “There is supposed to be a constant tension at Facebook between growth and integrity—there isn’t.”
The original Social Network, based on Ben Mezrich’s The Accidental Billionaires, earned $224 million worldwide and won three Oscars. Eisenberg, who was nominated for his portrayal of Zuckerberg, has not been confirmed for the sequel.
Zuckerberg himself has dismissed the first film’s accuracy, saying in a recent interview, “They got small details right, like what I was wearing, but the whole narrative about my motivations was completely wrong.”
Strong, who won an Emmy for Succession, was recently Oscar-nominated for playing Roy Cohn in The Apprentice. He’ll next appear alongside White in the Bruce Springsteen biopic Deliver Me from Nowhere, portraying producer Jon Landau.
