The Social Network 2 Just Cast a Stand-Up Comedy Legend — Guess Who's Joining the Sequel
A famous stand-up is logging on to The Social Network 2, joining the cast of the follow-up to the 2010 Facebook origin drama directed by David Fincher and written by Aaron Sorkin.
Yes, The Social Network 2 is real, and it just added a very familiar voice: Bill Burr. That alone tells you Aaron Sorkin is not making a museum piece. He is making something spicy.
So what did Burr just sign on for?
Per The Hollywood Reporter, Burr has joined the cast of Sony's sequel, with his role described as either made up or a blend of several real people. Translation: classic Sorkin. The rest is under wraps for now.
If you mostly know Burr for blistering stand-up, he has also been steadily acting for years: Date Night, The Heat, The King of Staten Island, Dog, Jerry Seinfeld's Unfrosted, plus TV runs on Breaking Bad, New Girl, The Mandalorian, and Barry. He co-created Netflix's animated F Is for Family and directed his first feature, Old Dads, in 2023.
Who is making this and what is it about?
Sorkin is writing and directing the sequel himself for Sony. It is also being referred to as The Social Network Part II and is expected to start filming later this year in Vancouver. No release date yet.
The focus this time is Facebook after the origin story. THR frames it like this:
The story of the new feature will focus on how the company’s own reporting pointed to the negative effects the company’s social media was having on teens and kids, how it knew misinformation was proliferating and causing violence, and how it contributed to the violent insurrection of Jan. 6, 2021.
If you are thinking this sounds more like a corporate thriller than a campus drama, you are not wrong. Also, expect some inside baseball and composite characters — Sorkin loves stitching multiple real-world threads into one scene or person.
The cast so far
- Bill Burr — role kept secret; said to be fictional or a composite
- Jeremy Allen White as Jeff Horwitz (the Wall Street Journal reporter who helped surface Facebook's internal research)
- Mikey Madison as Frances Haugen (the whistleblower who went public with those documents)
- Jeremy Strong as Mark Zuckerberg (yes, that Jeremy Strong — a curveball if you still picture Jesse Eisenberg from the 2010 film)
Quick refresher
The original The Social Network (2010) was directed by David Fincher and written by Sorkin, adapting Ben Mezrich's book The Accidental Billionaires. Jesse Eisenberg led the cast as Mark Zuckerberg, with Andrew Garfield as Eduardo Saverin and Justin Timberlake as Sean Parker. This new one is not a simple reunion; it is Sorkin moving the story into the messier, more controversial era of Facebook.
More casting and plot specifics will land once cameras roll in Vancouver. For now, Burr joining is an intriguing sign this sequel is not afraid to swing.