Why Andrew Garfield Won't Return For The Social Network Sequel

Like it or not, Andrew Sorkin is making a sequel to "The Social Network." This time out, he's not only writing the script, but taking the directorial reins from David Fincher. When the news broke, the industry was abuzz with two major questions: would Jesse Eisenberg reprise his portrayal of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, and would there be a role for Andrew Garfield's company co-founder Eduardo Saverin? Zuckerberg passed as soon as the project was announced (likely because he's grown increasingly picky about roles, but Fincher's absence in the director's chair probably didn't help either), but Garfield's potential involvement remained up in the air — until now.

IndieWire caught up with the "Tick, Tick... Boom!" star on the red carpet for the premiere of Luca Guadagnino's "After the Hunt," and he clearly stated that he will not be appearing in the sequel, which is now being called "The Social Reckoning." Why? Per Garfield, "Eduardo is in Singapore having a good time." Since he was probably the most sympathetic character in the first movie, you might be pleased to hear that Saverin is living the sweet life in Southeast Asia. In reality, he renounced his American citizenship in 2012 and high-tailed it to Singapore, where he can avoid paying somewhere in the neighborhood of $100 million in U.S. taxes. Should he ever return to the U.S., he could get spanked with 30% in taxes on any domestic investments. So we've probably seen the last of Saverin in America. What a heartbreaker.

So with no Saverin and a reportedly supporting role for Eisenberg replacement Jeremy Strong, what in the heck is "The Social Reckoning" about?

Sorkin's sequel will star Mikey Madison as a Facebook engineer-turned-whistleblower who leaks some of her company's most damaging secrets to a Wall Street Journal reporter (played by "The Bear" Primetime Emmy-winner Jeremy Allen White). I hope Sorkin gives serious play to Facebook's fabricated metrics, which led to media sites' "pivot to video," which put thousands upon thousands of journalists out of work because users supposedly preferred video to reading (this was a massive, massive lie). Facebook, now Meta, has faced a multitude of scandals over the last decade-plus, but they stay afloat because people can't countenance abandoning a site that platforms and promotes Nazis, while allowing children to have "sensual chats" with the company's AI.

Sorkin isn't a satirist. He's basically his generation's Stanley Kramer, a conscience-stricken liberal filmmaker who tackles societal ills and atrocities head-on (as Kramer did with the Hollywood Blacklist in "High Noon"). This approach can be wearying, but when the subject matter is as urgent as Meta's assault on our livelihoods and the welfare of our children, Sorkin might just be the man for the job. This is not nuanced subject matter. It's just evil.