‘The Social Network’ Sequel In The Works, Says Aaron Sorkin: “I Blame Facebook For Jan. 6”

Oscar-winning screenwriter Aaron Sorkin is planning to put a spotlight on Facebook’s controversies in a sequel to his critically acclaimed 2010 film The Social Network, which followed the creation of the social media platform.

Sorkin confirmed his plans to write a sequel on today’s episode of The Town podcast, telling listeners, “Look, yeah, I’ll be writing about this. I blame Facebook for Jan. 6.” While he wouldn’t explain why he believes the platform caused Donald Trump‘s supporters to storm the U.S. Capitol building in 2021, he teased, “You’re going to need to buy a movie ticket.”

The Hollywood mogul then explained why he is “trying” to write a movie about Facebook’s controversies.

“Facebook has been, among other things, tuning its algorithm to promote the most divisive material possible. Because that is what will increase engagement,” he said, per Variety. “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. It’s just growth.”

Sorkin continued, “If Mark Zuckerberg woke up tomorrow morning and realized there is nothing you can buy for $120 billion that you can’t buy for $119 billion, ‘So how about if I make a little bit less money? I will tune up integrity and tune down growth.’ Yes, you can do that by honestly switching a one to a zero and a zero to a one.”

The Social Network, which starred Jesse Eisenberg as Facebook founder Zuckerberg and raked in eight Oscar nominations, ultimately won Sorkin the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.

Sorkin’s recent remarks were hardly the first time he’s toyed with the idea of a sequel. In a 2020 episode of the Happy Sad Confused podcast, he revealed his goals to delve into “the dark side of Facebook,” though noted that he’d only “write it if [original filmmaker David Fincher] directs it,” per Deadline.

Fincher, for his part, seemed a little more hesitant about shooting a sequel. “Aaron and I have talked about it, but, um … that’s a can of worms,” he told The Guardian in 2023.

In the meantime, you can stream The Social Network on Max.