The Social Network screenwriter Aaron Sorkin is sharing his plans to develop a possible sequel following Facebook's algorithm. The screenwriter has also shared that he is blaming the social media platform for what happened on January 6 at the U.S. Capitol.

2010's The Social Network followed the founding of the famous social media platform Facebook. Based on Ben Mezrich's 2009 book The Accidental Billionaires, the biographical drama had David Fincher at the helm with a script by Aaron Sorkin and starred Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake, and Armie Hammer. Almost a decade and a half since the film's premiere, Sorkin revealed his plans for a sequel, which he has teased over the years. The Social Network won 3 Academy Awards for Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Original Score from its total of eight nominations.

During an episode of The Town podcast about how Facebook and social media have influenced democracy in the years since The Social Network premiered, the Oscar-winning screenwriter shared his plans to write a spiritual sequel for the film. “Look, yeah, I’ll be writing about this,” Sorkin said (via The Hollywood Reporter). “I blame Facebook for January 6.” When pressed for more details as to why he blames Facebook for the mop storming of the U.S. Capitol, Sorkin responded, “You’re going to need to buy a movie ticket.”

When asked whether the project he's writing will be developed into a movie, the screenwriter said: “I’m trying. Facebook has been, among other things, tuning its algorithm to promote the most divisive material possible. Because that is what will increase engagement. That is what will get you to — what they call inside the hallways of Facebook — ‘the infinite scroll’..."

He went on to explain, "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.”

Aaron Sorkin Has Teased The Social Network Sequel Before

This isn't the first time the film's screenwriter has shared an interest in continuing Facebook's story. Back in January 2019, Sorkin shared The Social Network producer Scott Rudin reached out to him several times to continue the story, noting that "a lot of very interesting, dramatic stuff has happened since the movie ends." In October 2020, Sorkin said during the Happy Sad Confused podcast that he'd be interested in writing the sequel if David Fincher returned to direct.

“I think what has been going on with Facebook these last few years is a story very much worth telling, and there is a way to tell it as a follow-up to The Social Network, and that’s as much as I know,” he told THR in 2021. So far, no official project is in the works with any production company.

The Social Network is streaming on Max.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter