Aaron Sorkin has talked about making a sequel to his hit film The Social Network over the years, but now he’s planning on actually writing it.
The original film examined the dramatic and messy origins of Facebook, and this sequel will put a focus on the social media platform’s impact on U.S. democracy.
On a recent episode of the entertainment business podcast The Town, Sorkin shared his intention to write the sequel, telling hosts Matthew Belloni and Peter Hamby: “Look, yeah, I’ll be writing about this. I blame Facebook for January 6.”
Sorkin was then asked to elaborate on how the project will handle the events of that event, which saw a crowd of Trump supporters storm the U.S. Capitol. He responded: “You’re going to need to buy a movie ticket.”
The screenwriter did go on to say that he’s been “trying” to crack the project saying: “Facebook has been, among other things, tuning its algorithm to promote the most divisive material possible, because that is what will increase engagement.”
He added: “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; there’s just growth.”
Sorkin previously talked about the sequel saying: “I do want to see it. And Scott wants to see it. People have been talking to me about it. What we’ve discovered is the dark side of Facebook.”
It was also reported that “Sorkin has taken an interest in Roger McNamee, an early Facebook investor who published the 2019 book Zucked, which was critical of the company. Sorkin has met with McNamee, who raised red flags to Zuckerberg and Facebook CEO Sheryl Sandberg after noticing strange political activity on the platform.”
Sorkin has stressed in the past that, “I will only write it if [original filmmaker David Fincher] directs it. If Billy Wilder came back from the grave and said he wanted to direct it, I’d say I’d only do it with David.”
Fincher has talked about doing the film, and when asked about it, he said: “Aaron [Sorkin, The Social Network’s screenwriter] and I have talked about it, but, um… that’s a can of worms.” Fincher didn’t elaborate on that.
If Sorkin is actually writing the script now, Fincher is obviously involved and considering returning to direct it. Maybe Fincher is waiting for the script before he decides if he wants to commit or not.
Sorkin also said in the past: “There’s no question that there is a story. Whether you want to call it a sequel or not, there’s a story there. Whether I’m the guy to tell it or not, I’m not sure.”
He continued: “What I mean is right now, as we speak, I would not be able to write. I don’t know quite how to tell the story, and I think it’s probably also something I wouldn’t want to do without David Fincher.”
I loved the first film, and I’d be very curious about watching this sequel that Sorkin is working on.
Vis: Deadline