Aaron Sorkin hits refresh on Facebook in ‘The Social Reckoning’ – Fall Movie Preview

When Aaron Sorkin created the 2010 film "The Social Network," he admitted at the time that he only had a superficial understanding of Facebook, likening it to his knowledge of a carburetor. Sixteen years later, Sorkin has developed a much more profound insight into the expansive empire built by Mark Zuckerberg.

In "The Social Reckoning," which Sony Pictures will release on October 9, Sorkin explores the significant transformation Facebook has undergone since its inception. The movie delves into Facebook's role in the proliferation of extremism and social division. The film is set to release during a particularly sensitive period for Facebook, as Meta, the parent company, recently agreed to pay up to $18 billion in penalties for claims that its platform endangered children.

Sorkin's "The Social Reckoning" is one of several films this fall that scrutinize tech moguls. Alex Gibney will release a four-hour documentary on Elon Musk titled "Musk" on October 16, while Luca Guadagnino's "Artificial" dramatizes the story of Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI. However, "The Social Reckoning" stands out due to its subject matter and the legacy of Sorkin's previous work on Facebook, "The Social Network."

Despite the high expectations, Sorkin acknowledges the shadow cast by "The Social Network" and hopes that audience members will quickly become engrossed in the film. The movie centers on Zuckerberg but portrays him and his company at a much different stage than the one introduced in the earlier film. Sorkin draws a comparison to the character transformation of Henry Hill in "Goodfellas."

Sorkin contemplated the idea of "The Social Reckoning" as early as 2019, when he wrote an op-ed in The New York Times addressed to Zuckerberg, accusing the company of spreading misinformation and contributing to the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021. Sorkin has since blamed Facebook for the riot and felt compelled to address the issues he had identified earlier.

The film features Mikey Madison as Frances Haugen, a former Facebook data scientist and whistleblower, Jeremy Allen White as Wall Street Journal reporter Jeff Horwitz, and Jeremy Strong, replacing Jesse Eisenberg, who portrayed Zuckerberg in "The Social Network." As of now, Facebook and Zuckerberg have not publicly commented on "The Social Reckoning."