No matter how hard anyone tries to supersede that memory, actor Jesse Eisenberg playing Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Network was truly a turning point in the actor’s career. While director David Fincher didn’t need any more hits on his hand, Eisenberg received high critical acclaim for the film, including an Oscar nomination. Now the billionaire CEO is going to be played by Succession star Jeremy Strong, and the actor seems to have no plans on respecting the old guard.
Strong, who will next be seen in the Bruce Springsteen biopic, is set to play an older Zuckerberg in the film The Social Reckoning. He is also set to reunite with Jeremy Allen White, who will be playing the Wall Street Journal reporter Jeff Horwitz, who is responsible for the Facebook Files expose.
However, Jeremy Strong is distancing himself from Jesse Eisenberg’s portrayal of Mark Zuckerberg and believes that the two roles have nothing to do with each other. When asked by THR whether he had talked to his predecessor about the role, he said, “I think that [Eisenberg’s performance] has nothing to do with what I’m going to do. It’s one of the greatest scripts I’ve ever read. It speaks to our time; it touches the third rail of everything happening in our world. It’s a great character — fascinating, complex — and I’m approaching it with great care and empathy and objectivity.”
Strong has worked with director Aaron Sorkin twice before, and he said that the third time is the charm. Academy Award winner Mikey Madison is also a part of the film and will be portraying the real-life Facebook engineer Frances Haugen.
The Social Network, directed by David Fincher, was a deep dive into the origins of Facebook. Andrew Garfield played co-founder Eduardo Saverin, while singer Justin Timberlake played the notorious founder of Napster, Sean Parker. During the 2011 Academy Awards, the film was nominated for 8 Oscars, winning three of them. The triumphs came in the categories of Best Writing, Best Editing, and Best Original Score.
Aaron Sorkin, who is helming the sequel, co-wrote the first film and is known for directing films like Molly’s Game and The Trial of the Chicago 7.
