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Updated 41 minutes ago, October 7, 2026

Jesse Eisenberg turned down a return as Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Reckoning, even after writer-director Aaron Sorkin prepared an outline to persuade him. Eisenberg earned an Oscar nomination playing the Facebook founder in 2010’s The Social Network; Jeremy Strong has taken over the role for the follow-up, opening October 9.

Sorkin was nearly finished with the screenplay when he encountered Eisenberg at a party and told him he’d send it soon. He assumed the actor would want to return. Once Eisenberg declined, Sorkin did something he said he’d never done for a movie: write an outline, this time for their conversations.

His pitch drew on Eisenberg’s original performance and the scenes the new script would give him. Eisenberg later told Sorkin the conversations had brought him closer to reconsidering than he’d expected, but he still passed.

Sorkin said he knew the studio’s offer, and described Eisenberg as someone who wasn’t motivated by a paycheck. Eisenberg explained his decision in terms of his own direction in life and his discomfort with continuing to play Zuckerberg.

“I don’t want to be associated with that character, but all of my reasons for not wanting to do the movie have nothing to do with how wonderful the movie is, and will be, and I’m sure is already,” Eisenberg said.

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