After years of sharing his hopes for The Social Network 2, it was reported in June that Aaron Sorkin is indeed writing and directing a follow-up to the Academy Award-winning 2010 movie. We’ve since learned that it will feel like quite the different beast compared to its David Fincher-helmed predecessor, which includes Succession’s Jeremy Strong playing Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg rather than Jesse Eisenberg. However, today this lack of Eisenberg doesn’t hit as hard now that I know plot details for The Social Network 2 that accompanied the reveal of the official title and release date.
The Social Reckoning Comes Out In October 2026
Sony Pictures announced today that The Social Reckoning has been slated for an October 9 release on the 2026 movies calendar. That’s the same day that Paramount Pictures’ The Legend of Aang: The Last Airbender and Universal Pictures’ Other Mommy comes out. Other big movies coming out that month include Alejandro G. Iñárritu untitled movie and the Street Fighter reboot.
Described as a “companion piece” to The Social Network, The Social Reckoning delves into the true story of how Facebook engineer Frances Heughan, played by Anora’s Mikey Madison, enlisted the help of Wall Street Journal reporter Jeff Horowitz, played by The Bear’s Jeremy Allen White, to embark on “a dangerous journey that ends up blowing the whistle on the social network’s most guarded secrets.” These two and Jeremy Strong are joined by Bill Burr, whom THR has previously said is “playing a character that is fictional or an amalgamation.”
I Actually Like That Mark Zuckerberg Isn’t The Movie’s Central Character
I won’t lie and say I’m not still disappointed that Jesse Eisenberg isn’t reprising Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Reckoning. His Academy Award and Golden Globe-nominated performance is one of the main reasons why The Social Network was so positively received. It would have been great to follow up on his Zuckerberg depiction in the 2020s.
However, after reading the official synopsis for this follow-up, having Jeremy Strong take over the role goes down a little smoother since it sounds like Mark Zuckerberg is more of a supporting character in The Social Reckoning. This film is exploring the leak that culminated in The Wall Street Journal series of articles called The Facebook Files. Frances Heughan and Jeff Horowitz will be the central characters, and while it’s safe to say Strong’s Zuckerberg will have a decent amount of screen time, this story isn’t being told from the tech mogul’s perspective like it was in The Social Network.
That’s not to say that The Social Reckoning meet or even exceed The Social Network’s quality, but I’m withholding judgment until actually seeing it. For now, I’m more at peace with Jesse Eisenberg not returning for this new movie, and more open to see how Jeremy Strong does playing Mark Zuckerberg in a slightly less prominent capacity. And while I don’t think he’s at David Fincher’s level, Aaron Sorkin has shown his directing chops in Molly’s Game, The Trial of the Chicago 7 and Being The Ricardos. So it’ll certainly be interesting seeing how he does putting The Social Reckoning together beyond the scripting stage.