The Social Network Part II Is Happening—Here’s What We Know So Far

Fifteen years after The Social Network redefined the modern biopic, Aaron Sorkin is returning to the scene of the algorithm.

Sony Pictures recently confirmed that The Social Network Part II is officially in development, with Sorkin not just writing but also directing this time around. David Fincher, who helmed the original, is not attached to the sequel—a notable shift, but not entirely surprising given Sorkin’s growing directorial credentials (Molly’s Game, The Trial of the Chicago 7, Being the Ricardos).

Crucially, this isn’t a “straight sequel.” There’s no Harvard hoodie origin story redux here. Instead, the new film is loosely based on The Facebook Files, the 2021 Wall Street Journal investigation that revealed just how far Meta allegedly went to prioritise engagement over integrity—from algorithmic divisiveness to teen mental health damage.

The Social Network (2010)Netflix

Why Sorkin Is Picking This Fight (Again)

Aaron Sorkin has never exactly been subtle, but even by his standards, the motivations for this project are loud and clear. In a 2024 live taping of The Town podcast, Sorkin dropped the line: “I blame Facebook for January 6.” When pressed for details, he added: “You’re gonna need to buy a movie ticket.”

He’s since elaborated, albeit slightly, pointing to Facebook’s internal culture of choosing growth over ethics. “There’s supposed to be a constant tension at Facebook between growth and integrity,” he said. “There isn’t. It’s just growth.” If the first film was about accidental billionaires, this one seems set to explore the consequences of unchecked power—and how platforms shape democracy, society, and identity, often without consequence.

In some ways, this film is Sorkin’s answer to the years-long debate over social media’s role in real-world harm. It’s not just about Zuckerberg anymore; it’s about everything his platform enabled.

But, Do We Need Another One?

Fair question. The original Social Network is considered one of the most prescient and perfectly executed films of the 2010s. It captured a cultural shift in real-time, giving us one of Jesse Eisenberg’s best performances, Trent Reznor’s now-iconic score, and a generation’s defining line: “If you guys were the inventors of Facebook, you’d have invented Facebook.”

But the platform’s story didn’t end with that closing shot of Zuckerberg refreshing Erica Albright’s profile. The stakes have changed—from messy lawsuits and friend betrayals to whistleblowers, algorithmic damage, misinformation, and global influence. In that sense, Sorkin’s sequel doesn’t just make sense—it feels necessary. If part one was about creation, part two is about consequence.

What’s more, Sorkin has found a new literary spine for the follow-up in The Facebook Files, echoing how the first film was rooted in Ben Mezrich’s The Accidental Billionaires. Expect dramatized boardroom scenes, deposition-style showdowns, and moral monologues—classic Sorkin, but with a darker, more disillusioned edge.

Inside The Facebook Files: The Leak That Changed Everything

The Facebook File are a series of investigative reports published by The Wall Street Journal in September 2021 that cracked open the inner workings of Facebook. Based on thousands of pages of leaked internal documents, the whole series was detailed, data-backed, and devastatingly candid about what Facebook (now Meta) knew and chose to ignore constantly.

Wall Street Journal

The whistleblower behind the leak was Frances Haugen, a former Facebook product manager on the civic integrity team. Frustrated by the company’s internal inertia, Haugen quietly gathered documentation before leaving the company, eventually sharing the cache with lawmakers, regulators, and journalists. The Journal’s reporting, primarily led by tech journalist Jeff Horwitz, revealed a company deeply aware of its platform’s harms and yet largely unwilling to act unless it hurt the bottom line.

One of the most jarring revelations was how Facebook internally assessed Instagram’s impact on teen mental health. Then came XCheck, an internal system that essentially created a two-tier content moderation structure. High-profile users—celebrities, politicians, influencers—were shielded from enforcement mechanisms that applied to regular users. The leak also revealed how Facebook’s engagement-focused algorithm amplified misinformation, polarisation, and outrage. In 2018, when Facebook overhauled its news feed to prioritise “meaningful social interactions,” internal metrics showed an unintended consequence: the spread of more divisive and incendiary content.

What made The Facebook Files so powerful wasn’t just what they exposed—it was how methodically they showed a pattern. Again and again, Facebook was presented with data showing the damage it was enabling. And again and again, business growth won.

For Aaron Sorkin, this is fertile, fire-starting material. If The Social Network gave us the mythology of how Facebook was built, this new film promises to interrogate what it became—and at what cost.

What We Know About The Cast

As of now, no cast has been officially announced. Jesse Eisenberg, fresh off directing his Oscar-winning film A Real Pain, hasn’t confirmed his return. But it’s hard to imagine a sequel without Zuckerberg showing up in some form, even if just in flashbacks or media footage.

It’s also unclear whether the story will focus solely on U.S.-centric issues like the 2020 election and January 6, or if it’ll expand its lens to include global effects, teenage users, and broader concerns around the attention economy.

What we do know is that it will be one rollercoaster ride with Sorkin.