The first trailer for Aaron Sorkin’s long-awaited sequel to 2010 hit The Social Network is here — and everyone is saying the same thing about Jeremy Strong’s portrayal of Mark Zuckerberg.
Sixteen years after David Fincher’s film centered on the rise of the Facebook founder with an Oscar-nominated performance by Jesse Eisenberg, the actor declined to return for the sequel directed by Sorkin, who wrote the original movie. Instead, Strong was chosen to take on the layered role as the new film chronicles the fallout from whistleblower revelations about the harmful effects of the social media giant.
Audiences got their first look at Strong, 47, in the tech billionaire’s shoes after Sony Pictures unveiled the trailer for The Social Reckoning Wednesday. Rather than the dark-haired, erratic version of the actor that fans came to know through his Succession character Kendall Roy, Strong was shown in the trailer with reddish hair cut jarringly short and robotic movements.
However, his unrecognizable look took the backseat in the reactions to the trailer as another piece of his impression immediately caught fans off guard: his stilted, throaty imitation of Zuckerberg’s voice, which is being hailed as pitch-perfect.
“This voice is insanely spot-on. Jeremy Strong is gonna crush it,” one person noted on X. Another added: “I had my doubts but jeremy strong killed the voice and physical impression. might have to tune in just for him.”
“Jeremy Strong is absolutely cooking with this voice,” another person added. “He’s giving Zuckerberg that evolved, boardroom shark energy instead of dorm-room genius. This sequel might actually slap harder than the first one.”
“Why does he sound like him in such an uncanny way?” another questioned. Another X user wrote, “Stacked cast. Jeremy Strong has nailed Mark Zuckerberg’s voice.”
In addition to Strong, the film stars Anora Oscar-winner Mikey Madison, The Bear star Jeremy Allen White, comedian Bill Burr, Billy Magnussen and Sinners breakout Wunmi Mosaku.
The sequel will be based on the Wall Street Journal’s “The Facebook Files” series, an investigation into the world’s largest social media platform. Madison will play former Facebook employee Frances Haugen, the whistleblower who came forward with information, and White will play Jeff Horwitz, the journalist who broke the story.
Strong told The Hollywood Reporter last year about the film: “It’s one of the great scripts I’ve ever read. It speaks to our time, it touches the third rail of everything happening in our world. It’s a great character — fascinating, complex — and I’m approaching it with great care and empathy and objectivity.”