1 of 5 | Meryl Streep (L) and Anne Hathaway return in “The Devil Wears Prada 2,” in theaters Friday. Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios
Fan service is not limited to comic book and Star Wars movies. The Devil Wears Prada 2, in theaters Friday, is as empty a sequel as any other franchise, and defangs its “devil” in the process.
20 years after her internship at Runway Magazine, Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway) is an award winning journalist. But, in 2026 awards don’t keep journalists employed so she takes a job as features editor at Runway.
Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep) is still the editor in chief and Nigel (Stanley Tucci) still the art director she trusts. But, a recent scandal jeopardized Miranda’s authority.
So now Miranda belittles Andy’s writing instead of her fashion sense. The publisher made Andy the bad guy by hiring her without consulting Miranda, and Miranda dresses Andy down as the CEO’s latest whim.
Some of Miranda’s abuses have been curbed by HR. Streep does some physical comedy adjusting to things for which she used to humiliate assistants.
Miranda has some clever one liner-reactions to HR’s policing of her language, but that also defangs her character. The intention seems to be to soften any of the edges from the first film.
That means that anything controversial Miranda or other characters did gets retconned. Miranda even lets her guard down, and Streep can play vulnerable, but that’s wrong for Miranda.
It’s not that we want Miranda to remain one dimensional, but generic “likeability” is not even a second dimension, let alone a third.
Nigel confirmed he was staying at Runway despite a betrayal by Miranda at the end of the first film. Market research must have shown fans wanted her to make it up to him, because that’s on the table in the sequel.
Everyone is forgiven for old and new offenses, which could be an evolution had any of the offending parties worked for it. It all feels more like everyone’s so happy to see each other again so let’s be friends this time.
Nigel supports Andy when they’re one on one, and that remains the most natural chemistry between characters. Former senior assistant Emily (Emily Blunt) is now an executive at Dior which keeps her in the movie and in a position of some power equal to or greater than Miranda.
Lots of fashion icons and just plain celebrities cameo. There are plenty of wardrobe changes and closet scenes.
Some of these threads are left dangling too. Nigel lends Andy one dress he warns her not to stain. She does stain it but nothing ever comes of it. Tap water and dish soap did the trick.
While it is admirable to see a mainstream film tackle the challenges facing journalism today, it is a rather depressing downturn from the bustling titan the fashion magazine was in the 2006 movie. Nigel and Miranda lament digitizing content that people scroll past.
Still, The Devil Wears Prada 2 is not Spotlight so it’s not really going to take a stand for journalistic integrity. Furthermore, it makes Miranda a passive character for much of the film.
Runway’s budget was already smaller before the scandal, but now Miranda caves to management’s cuts and directives, and already caved to advertisers to placate them after the scandal. There is some fish out of water comedy to Miranda losing her expense account, but she doesn’t really go Miranda Priestly on anyone over it.
There is a reality that the current state of journalism would reduce the power of an editor like Miranda. This film has no satisfying answer for how she reacts to that.
At least the film is focused on doing good work. The theme of the original was about how terrible it is to have a work ethic and commit to a demanding job that requires going above and beyond.
Andy’s friends were portrayed as heroes saving her soul from caring about her job. Lily (Tracie Thoms) returns, now owner of an art gallery, but thankfully Andy dumped her loser boyfriend from 2006. Sorry, there’s no Adrian Grenier cameo but his character was a bad influence.
Andy has a new love interest but their courtship is obnoxious even by rom-com standards. First she complains about a remodeled historic building to a stranger (Patrick Brammall) who quite clearly is the developer.
When they date their inane banter includes talking about how they’re talking about dating. This cues Andy to give a contrived forced laugh.
Surely fashion has undergone some interesting changes in 20 years. The Devil Wears Prada 2 lost all sight of that and opted instead for a reunion tour.
Fred Topel, who attended film school at Ithaca College, is a UPI entertainment writer based in Los Angeles. He has been a professional film critic since 1999, a Rotten Tomatoes critic since 2001, and a member of the Television Critics Association since 2012 and the Critics Choice Association since 2023. Read more of his work in Entertainment.
Anne Hathaway, Meryl Streep attend ‘Devil Wears Prada 2’ premiere
Left to right, stars Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, Stanley Tucci and Anne Hathaway arrive on the red carpet for the premiere of “The Devil Wears Prada 2” in New York City on April 20, 2026. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
