Jeremy Strong to Play Mark Zuckerberg in ‘The Social Network 2’ — Jesse Eisenberg Declines Offer to Return

UPDATE: Deadline confirms Strong would indeed be playing Zuckerberg. Eisenberg isn’t returning.

Uh oh. Here’s THR reporting that Jeremy Strong is circling Aaron Sorkin’s “The Social Network Part II,” and that he might be playing Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.

The trade’s sources mention that Strong’s participation comes down to two major roles left to be cast: WSJ editor, or Facebook/Meta CEO Zuckerberg. Signs are starting to point towards the latter being the case.

Now, to make things even clearer, one source says that Jesse Eisenberg, who portrayed Zuckerberg in 2010’s “The Social Network,” has passed on the chance to reprise his part. Whether that is a negotiating tactic or not “remains to be seen.”

Strong’s casting comes less than 24 hours after it was reported that Mikey Madison and Jeremy Allen White were circling the lead roles in Sorkin’s film. Madison would be playing Frances Haugen, the former Facebook product manager turned whistleblower who exposed the Facebook files. White would portray Jeff Horowitz, the author of the Wall Street Journal piece.

Now, Eisenberg declining to come back puts a major damper on this project as some of the excitement revolved around his potential reprisal of Zuckerberg, a role he made iconic 15 years ago. Here’s hoping he changes his mind.

All this to say, Strong is still a great actor. His breakout turn in “Succession” has opened up many doors for him in the movie world. His most recent credits includes roles in Sorkin’s “Trial of the Chicago 7,” James Gray’s “Armageddon Time,” and Ali Abassi’s “The Apprentice.”

Sorkin, who won the screenplay Oscar for the 2010 original, will direct this one himself, which would represent a shift from Fincher’s meticulous visual style. Sorkin has only directed three films so far (“Molly’s Game,” “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” “Being the Ricardos”).