Friend request denied.<\/p>\n
Jesse Eisenberg dodged a question about why he chose not to return<\/a> as Mark Zuckerberg for the upcoming \u201cSocial Network\u201d sequel during an appearance on the \u201cToday\u201d show Thursday.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s been some reporting that you passed on the sequel,\u201d host Craig Melvin asked. \u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n Jesse Eisenberg dodged a question about why he isn\u2019t returning as Mark Zuckerberg for the upcoming \u201cSocial Network\u201d sequel while chatting with Craig Melvin on the \u201cToday\u201d show on Oct. 30, 2025.<\/p>\n But instead of answering the question outright, Eisenberg went on to make a joke about the brazen jewel heist<\/a> that took place at the world\u2019s most famous museum earlier this month.<\/p>\n \u201cYou know, I was in Paris,\u201d the \u201cZombieland\u201d star, 42, said. \u201cAnd I had some tools, and I figured there was a way to make a little more of a statement at the Louvre.\u201d<\/p>\n Although Melvin attempted to play along, the pair\u2019s exchange got awkward fast.<\/p>\n Instead of answering Melvin\u2019s question, Eisenberg went on to make a joke about the brazen jewel heist that took place at the Louvre earlier this month.<\/p>\n \u201cI see what you did there,\u201d the \u201cToday\u201d host replied before Eisenberg fired back: \u201cI see what\u00a0you\u00a0did there. We both are playing chess.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYour turn! My turn?\u201d the seemingly confused \u201cNow You See Me\u201d star continued. \u201cWhat do you have coming out this month?\u201d<\/p>\n After some more incredibly uncomfortable back and forth, Melvin pressed Eisenberg once again about why he \u201cwould say no\u201d to returning as Zuckerberg for Aaron Sorkin\u2019s \u201cThe Social Reckoning.\u201d <\/p>\n Eisenberg as Zuckerberg and Joseph Mazzello as Dustin Moskovitz in \u201cThe Social Network.\u201d Merrick Morton<\/p>\n Andrew Garfield and Eisenberg in \u201cThe Social Network.\u201d \u00a9Columbia Pictures\/courtesy Ever<\/p>\n \u201cListen, for reasons that have nothing to do with how amazing that movie will be, really, truthfully,\u201d the \u201cA Real Pain\u201d star<\/a> explained. \u201cBut when you play a character, you feel, you know, at some point you\u2019ve grown into something else.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, something,\u201d Eisenberg continued regarding whether he \u201coutgrew\u201d the role. \u201cBut it\u2019s a really wonderful movie. I\u2019m friends with Aaron Sorkin, who wrote and is directing this movie, and all of the reasons that I am not in it are completely unrelated to how brilliant it will be.\u201d<\/p>\n Directed by David Fincher with a screenplay by Sorkin, \u201cThe Social Network\u201d was released in 2010 and saw Eisenberg star as the famous Facebook founder<\/a> during the early stages of the platform\u2019s development.<\/p>\n Despite earning a Best Actor nomination for the role at the 2011 Academy Awards, Eisenberg chose not to return as Zuckerberg after Sorkin first announced that \u201cThe Social Reckoning\u201d<\/a> was in development back in June.<\/p>\n Eisenberg as Zuckerberg in \u201cThe Social Network.\u201d \u00a9Columbia Pictures\/courtesy Ever<\/p>\n It was later announced that \u201cSuccession\u201d star Jeremy Strong would be taking over\u00a0the role from Eisenberg, per The Hollywood Reporter<\/a>.<\/p>\n The \u201cAdventureland\u201d star, meanwhile, spoke out against the 41-year-old Meta CEO during an interview with BBC Radio<\/a> back in February.<\/p>\n At the time, Eisenberg shared that he didn\u2019t \u201cwant to think of myself as associated with somebody<\/a> like that.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s like this guy is\u2026 doing things that are problematic, taking away fact-checking,\u201d he said of the billionaire\u2019s<\/a> social media policies. \u201cSafety concerns. Making people who are already threatened in the world more threatened.\u201d<\/p>\n Zuckerberg has spoken out against \u201cThe Social Network.\u201d Getty Images<\/p>\n Zuckerberg said the film mischaracterized his motivations. Getty Images<\/p>\n As for Zuckerberg, he spoke out against \u201cThe Social Network\u201d during a chat on\u00a0\u201cThe Colin and Samir Show\u201d<\/a> podcast one month later.<\/p>\n \u201cThey got all these very specific details of what I was wearing, or these specific things correct, but then the whole narrative arc around my motivations and all this stuff were like, completely wrong,\u201d he said in March.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t