In April, footage from the upcoming Social Network sequel, The Social Reckoning, was previewed at CinemaCon. And the reactions were all about Jeremy Strong’s portrayal of Facebook co-founder and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
“Jeremy Strong’s Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Reckoning might be the thing that actually breaks the internet,” journalist and podcaster Matt Belloni wrote on X. “Five stars no notes yes yes yes.”
“Jeremy Strong looks uncanny in THE SOCIAL RECKONING. Absolutely nails the voice, and the movie itself looks like a bleak, very different take than its companion film exposing the over-reach of Facebook and Meta,” wrote movie critic James Preston Poole. “People may have underestimated this one…”
To remind you, The Social Network came out in 2010 and was all about the legal battle that stemmed from the creation of Facebook in the early 2000s. Directed by David Fincher, it was an adaptation of Ben Mezrich’s 2009 book The Accidental Billionaires, and is regarded as one of the defining films of the 2010s. Jessie Eisenberg received an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of Zuckerberg.
A lot has happened since then, so Aaron Sorkin, who wrote the script for The Social Network, has come back to write and direct a “companion piece.” The Social Reckoning is based on the events that led to the Wall Street Journal’s 2021 report, The Facebook Files. “The film is inspired by the true story of how Frances Haugen, a young Facebook engineer, enlists the help of Jeff Horwitz, a Wall Street Journal reporter, to go on a dangerous journey that ends up blowing the whistle on the social network’s most guarded secrets,” the official synopsis reads.
Now, amid all the hype/intrigue off the back of CinemaCon, the newly released trailer has given us our first look at Mikey Madison as Haugen…
…Jeremy Allen White as Horwitz…
…And, of course, Jeremy Strong as Zuckerberg. (The haircut, I can’t.)
I suggest you watch the trailer for yourself, as Jeremy’s performance is something that simply must be seen (and heard) to be believed. But first, here’s a roundup of some of the best reactions so far.
Some people are already sold:
While others aren’t quite convinced:
Aside from someone calling it “Zuccession,” my favorite post about this whole thing is this: “Jeremy Strong is either getting another Oscar nomination for this or winning the Razzie, there’s no in between.”
Well, we’ll have to wait and see! The Social Reckoning is due to hit theaters on October 9. Until then, you can watch the trailer here.