While Aaron Sorkin is returning to the world of Facebook for a sequel to The Social Network, the star of that acclaimed film will not be accompanying him. Succession‘s Jeremy Strong is circling the lead role of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, stepping in for Jesse Eisenberg. There is no indication whether Eisenberg turned the project down, or if the decision was made by the filmmakers.

Deadline reports that Strong is the top choice to play the Meta CEO, who has been embroiled in controversy over the actions of his flagship social media platform since before the first Social Network hit theaters in 2010. However, no formal offer has yet been made to Strong. The film, which is said to be more of a spiritual follow-up than a conventional sequel, is also said to be eyeing Anora‘s Mikey Madison and The Bear‘s Jeremy Allen White for unspecified roles in the film. Sorkin, who wrote the script for the first film, is also directing this time, replacing David Fincher. He’s worked with Strong twice before; the star had roles in two of Sorkin‘s directorial efforts, Molly’s Game and The Trial of the Chicago 7.

Who Is Jeremy Strong?

Known for his intense Method acting style, Strong became a respected actor on the New York stage before playing early screen roles in Lincoln, Zero Dark Thirty, and Selma. He broke out in 2018, playing ambitious media scion Kendall Roy on HBO‘s Succession. Strong won an Emmy for the role in 2020. Last year, he starred as infamous lawyer Roy Cohn, Donald Trump‘s longtime mentor, in The Apprentice; although the film struggled to get a distribution deal in the current political climate, Strong was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award. Next up, Strong is set to star in potential Social Network II co-star Jeremy Allen White‘s Bruce Springsteen biopic Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere; he’ll play Jon Landau, Springsteen’s longtime manager and producer. He is also signed on to star in a new TV series version of the science fiction conspiracy thriller The Boys From Brazil, in which he’ll play the Nazi hunter played in the original film by Laurence Olivier.

The Social Network II will examine the fallout from The Facebook Files, a series of articles by The Wall Street Journal‘s Jeff Horowitz, which exposed the inner workings of the social media giant. It will be produced by Sorkin, Todd Black, Peter Rice, and Stuart Besser.

The Social Network II is in development; no title or release date has yet been announced.

via Collider