The Social Network sequel officially in the works after 15 year wait

Aaron Sorkin will base follow up on a Wall Street Journal series about Facebook

Aaron Sorkin is officially working on a sequel to The Social Network – 15 years after the docu-drama based on Facebook’s origin story was released.

Sorkin’s sequel is based on the Wall Street Journal’s “The Facebook Files” series, an investigation into the world’s largest social media platform, which exposed the inner workings of the company.

Jesse Eisenberg starred as Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg in the original 2010 film, directed by David Fincher, with Andrew Garfield as co-founder Eduardo Saverin. The sequel's cast is yet to be announced.

Last year, Sorkin hinted that The Social Network Part II would not be a straightforward sequel, while speaking on the podcast The Town: “I blame Facebook for January 6,” he said, in reference to the Capitol riots.

When asked to specify how we would tackle the link between Facebook and the riots which saw Donald Trump supporters storm the US Capitol Building, he replied: “You’re gonna need to buy a movie ticket.”

He continued: “Facebook has been, among other things, tuning its algorithm to promote the most divisive material possible, because that is what will increase engagement.

Andrew Garfield and Jesse Eisenberg as Eduardo Saverin and Mark Zuckerberg in ‘The Social Network’ (Columbia)

“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.”

The Social Network was a critical and commercial success, grossing over $224m (£163m) worldwide and winning several Oscars, including Best Adapted Screenplay for Sorkin.

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Zuckerberg has been critical of the film. “It was weird man,” he said on a recent episode of The Colin and Samir Show.

“They got all these very specific details of what I was wearing, or these specific things correct, but then the whole narrative around my motivations and all this stuff were completely wrong.”