The only thing that could have made this more entertaining is if Jesse Eisenberg snuck in the word “banana” at some point. On Sunday, Eisenberg was walking the red carpet for the Los Angeles premiere of his new film “Minions & Monsters” when Variety asked the actor why he didn’t return for “The Social Reckoning,” the sequel to “The Social Network.”Jesse Eisenberg (left) said he no longer wants to be associated with Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg (right).GettyEisenberg was nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal of Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg in Aaron Sorkin’s 2010 film. Its follow-up, which now stars “Succession” alum Jeremy Strong as Zuckerberg, is set to hit theaters on Oct. 9.In response to Variety’s question, Eisenberg said, “I don’t want to be associated with that character” anymore. “You know, I kind of just told him I’m moving in different directions in my life,” the “Zombieland” star told the outlet.He added of the highly respected filmmaker, “The way Aaron speaks, in a way, if you’re not going to do something with him, it almost feels like you’re letting down America.”The “West Wing” creator had also mentioned Eisenberg’s reasoning earlier this month, telling Variety that he spent three days trying to convince the “A Real Pain” star to reprise his role as the tech tycoon.“I felt like it belonged to him, and he was certainly battle-tested,” Sorkin said of Eisenberg, before explaining why the actor rejected the role in a much juicier way.“He simply did not want to be conflated with Mark Zuckerberg anymore, that he has his problems with the guy,” Sorkin said. He doesn’t like kids coming up to him in airports with business cards that say ‘I’m CEO, bitch’ for him to sign.”Eisenberg said in 2025 that although he was able to empathize with Zuckerberg while making the 2010 film, he was struggling to still do so 15 years later, telling NPR’s “Fresh Air” that he wasn’t a fan of Zuckerberg’s decision to scrap the fact-checking system on Meta’s platforms, which include Facebook and Instagram. “And now that the platform is so powerful and owns all these other things, I guess I feel a little bit sad. Why is this the path you’re taking?” he said, before hinting he would no longer “justify and defend [Zuckerberg’s] behavior.” RelatedFacebookMark Zuckerbergmetaaaron sorkin Jesse Eisenberg