Jesse Eisenberg May Star In Counter-Terrorism Biopic From ‘Social Network’ Producer Scott Rudin

We’re not sure if you’re familiar with a little film called “The Social Network.” Both a critical and commercial success, it also managed to catch the imagination of the media and audiences in a way that few other films could last year, subject to endless discussion and parodies. In lieu of “The Social Network 2: Tweet Harder,” how could those who found such success with it possibly follow it up? Well, director David Fincher moved on to one of the biggest books of the last few years, co-star Andrew Garfield is playing one of the most iconic superheroes, and now the film’s lead, Jesse Eisenberg, and producer Scott Rudin look to be reteaming for a project with source material that’s just as intriguing as the Facebook picture.

Vulture reports that “The Terrorist Search Engine,” a recent article by Wesley Yang from their parent publication New York Magazine, has been optioned by Rudin with the intention of turning into a vehicle for Eisenberg. The article focused on Evan Kohlmann, a counter-terrorist expert who began working with the FBI when he was barely into his twenties, and has since served as a sort of freelance terrorist consultant, for the likes of The NEFA Foundation and NBC News, as well as serving as an expert witness for the prosecution in a number of terrorism trials.

The role of Kohlmann, once dubbed “The Doogie Howser of Terrorism,” in the latter has proved controversial to some; he essentially makes his living as a professional witness, and some have accused him of scaremongering, and even contributing to miscarriages of justice. It seems like it’s got the potential to be terrific source material (you can read the original article here), and Eisenberg appears to be a natural fit for the role of Kohlmann, who’s still only a mere 31.

No writer or director are yet attached to the project, and indeed the actor is said to be waiting for a script before he commits to any prospective film. Rudin is a veritable optioning machine, so it’s possible that we’ll never hear from the film again, but we certainly hope that the super-producer is able to land some creative talent worthy of the idea to carry the film forward; we know we’d certainly rather see Fincher take this on than “20,000 Leagues Under The Sea“