‘Social Reckoning’ Trailer Unleashes Jeremy Strong’s Zuckerberg Voice

The impact that Facebook has had on our way of life is terrible, and it’s only going to get worse! People are actively having their brains melted as they are algorithmically targeted with slop, both artificial and all-too human. But man, oh man, does it feel good when people smash that like button, right?! That’s not even me being facetious. I’ve fallen victim to the platform’s pull, just as many others have. And I was there when it all started, lying about being a college student to get an account, and marveling at The Social Network when it told the story of the company’s origins in 2010.

That was a whole lifetime ago. A lot has changed, and plenty hasn’t. Before that film, Facebook was certainly a powerful company. Since then, it has been (allegedly) responsible for widespread hatred, panic, conspiracy theories, loneliness, depression, and genocide. Much of that has been allowed under the claim that Facebook is just allowing people to have free speech, even while it is actively accused of highlighting certain ideologies over others.

Well, it looks like some of the company’s alleged wrongdoings will be at the forefront of The Social Reckoning, a new film written and directed by Aaron Sorkin (who wrote The Social Network). A new teaser debuted today, showing off the film’s cast, who will all be newcomers to… this isn’t a franchise, right? That doesn’t happen until the third movie, which, at that point, will be written and directed by Zuckerberg and be about him saving Hawaii or something. Anyway, ole Zucky boy, who was played by Jesse Eisenberg in the first film, will be portrayed by Jeremy Strong in this one, and the man is making choices.

Strong has the hair, mannerisms, and oddly monotoned voice of the social media mogul down. It’s another example of Strong’s ability to disappear into a role, which I’m sure wasn’t difficult at all to deal with. That said, Brian Cox wasn’t in the movie, so we’ll never know if that’s the case. The biggest snag, for me, is that Strong still just looks like himself as far as his face goes. I don’t think there’s anything they could have done to change that, but an element of it feels like he’s in a Halloween costume.

It’s interesting, too, because I see Eisenberg in The Social Network, and he’s doing less of an impression, and it works. He feels like Zuckerberg to me. Meanwhile, Strong seems to be doing something more straightforward, and it just feels off. It likely doesn’t help that we have Sorkin behind the director’s chair this go ‘round instead of David Fincher, but it also may feel less jarring when engrossed in the rest of the film. We’ll see.

Strong is joined by Jeremy Allen White, Mikey Madison, Wunmi Mosaku, Betty Gilpin, and Bill Burr, who will likely spend most of the promotional tour complaining about people’s response to the Riyadh Comedy Festival (or promoting the next one).