Jesse Eisenberg says turning down Social Network sequel felt un-American

Jesse Eisenberg felt as if he was "letting down America" when he said no to The Social Network sequel.

The Social Reckoning's writer and director, Aaron Sorkin, recently revealed that he spent three days trying to convince Eisenberg to reprise his role as Mark Zuckerberg in the sequel, but the Oscar-nominated actor turned it down.

Addressing his decision in an interview with Variety on Sunday, the Zombieland star joked that he felt that he let the country down by rejecting Sorkin's project.

"It's an honour to speak to Aaron in any capacity, because he's so articulate and charming and so bright," Eisenberg said. "We talked about doing the movie for several days, as he said. The way Aaron speaks, he speaks so wonderfully, as he writes that, in a way, if you're not going to do something with him, it feels almost like you're letting down America."

Eisenberg explained that he doesn't want to be associated with the Facebook and Meta founder any more than he already is after playing the businessman in 2010's The Social Network.

"I just told him I'm moving in different directions in my life, and you know, what he said sums it up nicely. I don't want to be associated with that character," he continued. "But all of my reasons for not wanting to do the movie have nothing to do with how wonderful the movie is, and will be, and I'm sure is already."

Earlier this month, Sorkin shared Eisenberg's reasons with Vanity Fair, saying, "He simply did not want to be conflated with Mark Zuckerberg anymore, that he has his problems with the guy. He doesn't like kids coming up to him in airports with business cards that say 'I'm CEO, b**ch' for him to sign."

The Social Reckoning, set in 2021, stars Jeremy Strong as Zuckerberg alongside Mikey Madison as Facebook engineer and whistleblower Frances Haugen and Jeremy Allen White as Wall Street Journal reporter Jeff Horwitz. It is inspired by an expose into Facebook's effects on teens and its role in circulating misinformation.

The drama will be released on 9 October.