We finally know a bit more about Aaron Sorkin‘s long-gestating follow-up to “The Social Network.” He may want to update some “West Wing” set pieces.
Sorkin said during “The Town” podcast that he blames Facebook for the January 6, 2021 insurrection on the Capitol led by right-wing extremists. A sequel is born.
Sorkin knows a thing or two about Facebook: “The Social Network” charted the creation of social media platform Facebook. The Oscar-winning feature was released in 2010 and won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.
On “The Town,” when asked about his take on the current state of politics, Sorkin said, “Look, yeah, I’ll be writing about this. I blame Facebook for January 6.”
When pressed for more details, he added: “You’re going to need to buy a movie ticket.”
Per The Hollywood Reporter, Sorkin was previously working on a January 6 script as well. That one was shelved. Sounds like he’s got his new angle.
During “The Town,” Sorkin explained his current perspective on Facebook and how it has impacted politics.
“Facebook has been, among other things, tuning its algorithm to promote the most divisive material possible, because that is what will increase engagement,” Sorkin said. “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. If Mark Zuckerberg woke up tomorrow morning and realized there is nothing you can buy for $120 billion that you can’t buy for $119 billion dollars, ‘So how about if I make a little bit less money? I will tune up integrity and tune down growth.’ Yes, you can do that by switching a one to a zero.”
Sorkin previously told The Hollywood Reporter in 2021 that he wanted to pen a script that exposed “the dark side” of Facebook. “I think what has been going on with Facebook these last few years is a story very much worth telling,” Sorkin said, “and there is a way to tell it as a follow-up to ‘The Social Network,’ and that’s as much as I know.”
Even though Sorkin has stated his desire for “The Social Network” director David Fincher to return for any follow-up film, Fincher told The Guardian in 2023 that it would be a “can of worms” of a project, despite having been in talks with Sorkin about it.
