“I’m A Film Writer, Here’s My Surprising Take On The Devil Wears Prada 2”

After 20 years, Anne Hathaway, Meryl Streep, and Emily Blunt are back for The Devil Wears Prada 2, following the much-loved original. While anticipation was high for the starry reunion and more Miranda Priestly, there was some scepticism over whether it could measure up to the first- how does it fare? Here’s one writer’s take:

What is The Devil Wears Prada 2 about?

DWP2 reunites us with Andy Sachs, the former assistant to Miranda Priestly, who we find now working as a reporter in New York, having successfully struck out on her own. If you’re wondering how the film reunites her with her former boss, that’s answered early on when Andy loses her job along with many of her colleagues out of nowhere, and ends up employed again at Miranda’s Runway Magazine, which is having problems of its own.

All of this is emblematic of one of the film’s big themes: the decline of print media and how journalism has changed. How to handle traditional media’s fading footprint was always one of the questions leading into The Devil Wears Prada’s sequel, but it’s surprising (in a good way) how potently the film works to address it. Social media and influencers have a fast-growing influence on fashion media, something Miranda and her real-life part-inspiration, Anna Wintour, have had to deal with.

How is the cast, two decades on?

Meryl Streep is again formidable as the older and still demanding Priestly, now cast as a character increasingly out of step with culture in 2026- though perhaps a bit less cold than she used to be. Miranda is also having to navigate the changing societal shifts since 2006, with HR evidently having more of an effect on her workplace, and being pressured to be sensitive on matters like body positivity. Much as the first, it’ll likely be her performance and her character that’s most talked about and commented on out of the cast, but Hathaway still does a solid job returning as Andy. Besides, her old rival in the form of Emily Charlton, again played by Emily Blunt, also reenters the picture to give some needed tension and chances for barb-trading. Finally, Stanley Tucci reprises his own role from the original as Miranda’s assistant Nigel, who is as entertaining, funny and enjoyable as Tucci always is. Oh, and there are a fair few celebrity cameos and casting surprises to look out for.

Meryl Streep is again formidable as the older and still demanding Priestly, now cast as a character increasingly out of step with culture in 2026.

Emily, too, has made a success for herself working with Dior, a brand coveted by Miranda and Runway (and now by extension Andy) for advertising revenue to keep the dwindling magazine afloat. There’s more cutting commentary on current affairs when Emily’s boyfriend, Benji Barnes (played by newcomer to the series Justin Theroux) is introduced. He’s a tech billionaire who has the money and resources to inject new life into Runway, but is also very keen on the idea of AI running things and driving Runway’s content. The Devil Wears Prada 2 strikes an anti-ai, anti-billionaire-controlled media tone, not just in defence of fashion and journalism, but also surely in defence of the film industry. It’s a good thing, then, that the box office numbers for the new movie are looking strong.

So begins a fight over how to secure Runway’s future, which Andy has been dragged into once again after years of working as an investigative journalist covering hard-hitting issues. Emily now has the upper hand and takes more of an antagonistic role, both qualities that Miranda once had, and the Runway boss who told us to “gird our loins” is now more vulnerable and even contemplating retirement.

Does it hold up as a sequel?

All of this is what makes The Devil Wears Prada 2 a mostly well-done follow-up to the original, and surprisingly so: while there was plenty of buzz about the original cast getting back together, the odds seemed low that it wouldn’t end up being a sequel that we wished hadn’t happened. It’s different and yet similar to the first one, which really is what a sequel needs to be. It’s still funny, still has good one-liners, and still captures that alluring appeal of fashion and reporting that meant that the original stuck with us. But it’s also, again, surprisingly for a 20 years on sequel that could easily be a lazy uninspired nostalgia bait, trying to say something about our current world and where we’re headed- but don’t worry, it’s still dressed in heels rather than as a dull essay.