In 2010 writer Aaron Sorkin and director David Fincher came together to create a movie that many would regard as one of the best movies of this millennium. The Social Network, which tells the story of the creation of social media giant Facebook, is seen by many as a movie that becomes only more relevant the more times goes on and the bigger Facebook has become. Many fans and critics have suggested that a sequel should be made at some point. It sounds like Aaron Sorkin is potentially still on board with that, but he would like to see David Fincher also return to direct it.
While Aaron Sorkin made his name in Hollywood as a writer, he’s recently turned his focus to also directing the movies that he writes. He’s previously been behind the camera for Molly’s Game, The Trial of the Chicago 7, and most recently his new film, Being the Ricardos. But, while Sorkin says he loves directing, he recently told our own Reelblend Podcast that, if The Social Network 2 actually did happen, he wouldn’t want to direct it himself. He explains...
It is something that I think about. I agree with you that there's more story after where The Social Network ended. I have not gone as far thinking about a structure or anything like that. And if I were to write it, my first choice for director, far and away, would be David Fincher. Listen, I'm enjoying directing, and I want to do more of it. But I'm not done wanting to work with great directors.
Considering that Aaron Sorkin’s last three film projects have been movies that he both wrote and directed, one might think that he was done writing for anybody but himself. There’s certainly an argument that if you want something done right, you should do it yourself. Nobody is going to have a better idea how to direct one of Sorkin’s scripts than the man himself, but he says he wants to continue working with other directors as well, and clearly he’d be happy to work with David Fincher at least one more time.
When you think about just how big, and controversial, Facebook has become, it’s hard to argue that there isn’t more story to be told. While it seems more than likely that story will be told in movie form at some point, doing it as a direct sequel to The Social Network, bringing back that cast, as well as the writer and director, makes a lot of sense.
And while Aaron Sorkin admits that he hasn’t really done any work on a potential sequel, he’s clearly on board with the idea on a conceptual level. He thinks it should happen. At the same time, this idea has been kicking around for a while, and there’s been little to no forward momentum. While there might be some interest, it doesn’t seem it’s in the right places, at least not right now.
