“The Mafia would be an easier enemy to make.”

That line from the first trailer for “The Social Reckoning” sets the tone for writer-director Aaron Sorkin‘s highly anticipated sequel to the 2010 film “The Social Network” – and it does not make Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg look good.

Jeremy Strong, who played Donald Trump‘s fixer Roy Cohn in “The Apprentice” (2024) was cast last year as Zuckerberg, but the trailer released by Sony Pictures on Wednesday, June 10, is the public’s first look at his performance.

“I’m a professional defendant,” Strong as Zuckerberg smirks as he testifies in a courtroom, the tech mogul’s introduction in the trailer.

“The Social Reckoning” is based on a series of articles published in the Wall Street Journal in 2021 called “The Facebook Files.” The reporting revealed that the social media company, headquartered in Menlo Park and now called Meta, was aware that Facebook and its sister app Instagram could incite political violence and cause harm to teenagers, but continued to prioritize profits instead.

Jeremy Allen White (“The Bear“) plays Wall Street Journal reporter Jeff Horwitz, while Oscar-winner Mikey Madison (“Anora”) is Frances Haugen, a young Facebook engineer turned whistleblower.

“I want to help Facebook, not hurt it,” Haugen says in the trailer.

But Horwitz finds investigating Facebook and Zuckerberg to be an eye-opening experience.

“That company, and that guy are playing unprecedented roles in our lives,”  Horwitz says.

Another high-ranking Facebook official tells Horwitz that Meta is “twice as big as any country.”

“We’re post-government around here,” he adds.

Other highlights from the trailer include drone shots of downtown San Francisco, and a couple of meltdowns by Zuckerberg.

“Enough!” Zuckerberg screams toward the end of the trailer. “People understand that when I say no, that’s the end of the debate.”

Sorkin won an Academy Award for best adapted screenplay for “The Social Network,” which was directed by David Fincher and starred Jesse Eisenberg as Zuckerberg. That film focused on the founding of the social media giant in the 2000s.

“The Social Reckoning” is scheduled to be released in theaters on Oct. 9.

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This article originally published at Jeremy Strong transforms into Mark Zuckerberg in first ‘Social Reckoning’ trailer.