There’s really no reason The Devil Wears Prada 2 should work as well as it does. Yet another belated sequel seemingly attempting to cash-in on 20-year-old nostalgia… Not that original stars Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway were nobodies when the original came out, but one could easily predict a limp, out-of-touch-with-the-times flick celebrating the glut of fashion being released when, in the real world, gas prices are rising precipitously and shopping at the supermarket is a budget buster. And yet, the sequel is shockingly the opposite: a charming, funny comedy with a cast working at the top of its game, expertly shot by returning director David Frankel and featuring a crackling script by Aline Brosh McKenna that replaces the tension of working your first big job from the original with the precipitous and perhaps irreversible decline of journalism. In short? Devil Wears Prada 2 is the biggest surprise of the Spring, a movie as smart and thoughtful as it is sweet and slickly produced.
Picking up 20 years later, Andrea “Andy” Sachs (Hathaway), former second assistant at the high-end fashion magazine Runway has followed her dreams after the end of the first movie, and has been pursuing a successful career as a journalist. That is until she and her entire staff are fired “via text” in the middle of an awards ceremony, where they’re being awarded. Andy’s rant on stage about how “journalism still f**king matters” goes viral, and just at the right time: it grabs the attention of the head of Runway’s parent company, Irv (Tibor Feldman) – or rather, his vapid, venture capital son Jay (B.J. Novak), who hires Andy as the new features editor of the embattled magazine.
See, while Andy has been living the dream for the past 20 years, Runway – and even the one-time dragon lady Miranda Priestly (Streep) – has seen better days, the book reduced to a pamphlet; the money for fashion, advertising, and definitely journalism rapidly drying up. Miranda, though, is less than happy to see Andy again (she hilariously pretends to not remember her at all), as she has her eye on a job as Global Head of Content with one foot out the door. And poor, faithful Runway king Nigel (Stanley Tucci) is stuck in the middle.
While the first third or so of Devil Wears Prada 2 does pretty much what you expect – glossily rehit beats from the first movie, from an opening shot of Andy brushing her teeth, to riffs on classic lines and scenes – once it ditches the nostalgia, the script holds tight to the idea that there are no easy solutions or ways out of the erosion of journalism. Discussions of amounts of clicks versus chatter from culture writers, the pull between advertising and editorial, a nerve-wracking scene where a bunch of “consultants” talk about how they’re going to improve the brand while planning on gutting every department… Look, perhaps this movie will appeal more to culture writers than the man on the street, but Devil Wears Prada 2 nails what it’s like to work in journalism right now to a shocking degree.
To be clear, this is still a fun fantasy where everyone makes fun of Hathaway’s eyebrows and surprise musical guests pop in for a third act performance to help save the day. We’re not talking Spotlight 2 here or anything. But at the same time, just as the original provided an unflinching appreciation of the fashion industry when it could have used style as a punching bag, here Brosh’s script allows the conversation to mature to include Andy’s dream of being a journalist. In fact, the most impressive part about the movie is how it works in some ways as a rejoinder to the discussions that have bubbled around the first one for two decades.
Specifically, Devil Wears Prada 2 might be the first movie to not work-shame people. The original leaned heavily into the idea that Andy needed to choose between her friends and ideals, or Miranda’s world. In the sequel, there’s an understanding that work, a job, can be rewarding in its own way, and perhaps life is more about finding that balance rather than making a choice. We need to work to make money, but some people actually enjoy working, and gain fulfillment from it… It’s something that would have never made sense for the young, idealistic Andy of 2006. In 2026, there’s a balance there that comes from aging that seeps through in Hathaway’s performance, and definitely in Streep’s, which is far more humanized and less devilish this time around.
Like the first time around, it’s almost a given that Hathaway and Streep will shine. But once again, though they get the most meaty dialogue to dig into, they don’t steal the show. Emily Blunt returns as Andy’s one-time rival, Emily, and the movie smartly positions her as an executive at Dior and Runway’s main advertiser; flipping the power dynamic so she now holds the reins instead of her one-time boss. Blunt expands on the perfect blend of biting quips and sneaky emotion that made her a star in the OG flick, while also getting a lot more to dig into as she becomes more integral to the overall plot. Stanley Tucci, as usual, is a precious gem, the heart of the movie, and the perfectly warm, sweet foil to the rest of the cast. Here too, the sequel takes stride to make amends for the first film, which left Tucci’s Nigel holding the bag, betrayed by Miranda but still loyally hanging around, hoping for his day in the sun. By the end of the film, Nigel gets at least two moments that will likely bring tears to your eyes, proving once again that Tucci is a national treasure.
The supporting cast is also filled out with some wonderful new additions. Justin Theroux as billionaire Benji Barnes gets to add yet another all-time movie weirdo to his resume, while Kenneth Branagh as Miranda’s new husband gets to be calmly supportive. Patrick Brammall, so good on Colin From Accounts, pops up as Andy’s new love interest and is an absolute scene stealer, improving on both of Andy’s dueling love interests from the first movie 1000 percent. Novak has honed his “being a callous jerk in office situations” chops from, well, The Office, and continues to use them here; though he does have a funny running bit about calling everyone “guys” immediately followed by “people.”
Thankfully, Tracie Thomas returns from the original as Andy’s friend Lily, providing a calm presence with more of a connection to the plot this time around (again, very tight script from McKenna), though one wonders why they couldn’t bring back Rich Sommer as well. Taking his place is a relatively underused Rachel Bloom, co-creator of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend with McKenna, though she does get one vintage Bloom line about Stockholm Syndrome that made me laugh out loud. And without listing the entire rest of the cast, Simone Ashley is a delight as Miranda’s current assistant Amari, providing the icy fashion diva vibes Blunt doled out in the original, with her own flair… She sits in meetings, silently checking Miranda’s no longer allowed by HR vocabulary, much to the latter’s chagrin.
Is Devil Wears Prada 2 going to change the world, save journalism, or innovate a new form of cinema? Absolutely not. But the movie builds beautifully as it goes, heading towards a conclusion that rather brilliantly and surprisingly ties things up in a way that won’t leave a dry eye in the house… And a lovely last shot that leaves the story open if the team does want to pursue a third entry, but is eminently satisfying as a denouement given the themes of the film. Given how few movies get journalism right, and fewer still legacy sequels that justify their existence, in a way Devil Wears Prada 2 feels like a minor miracle. That’s all.
The Devil Wears Prada 2 hits theaters on May 1, 2026.
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