If you were to search for a list of movies that define the 2000s, The Devil Wears Prada would undoubtedly be on that list. Let’s face it, it’s likely somewhere close to the top of the list…
Released in 2006, the movie follows Andrea “Andy” Sachs (Anne Hathaway) during her first weeks at the prestigious Runway magazine, infamous for its devilish boss Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep). Andy is an aspiring young journalist who, despite her lack of fashion industry knowledge (and sense of clothing), gets hired by the insanely demanding Miranda Priestly as a junior personal assistant. The movie follows Andy on her journey to keep her job and please her boss, both of which prove to be harder than she ever could have imagined.
With a current score of 75% on Rotten Tomatoes and an IMDb rating of 7.0, it’s clear that even almost 20 years later, the movie is beloved by audiences and critics alike. Marking an entire generation, it should therefore come as no surprise that when the sequel was officially announced by 20th Century Studios back in July, the Internet went crazy. And once the cameras started rolling, the hype became even greater.
Thanks to the recent images from the set, we know that all of the main characters are set to return: Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep), Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway), Emily Charlton (Emily Blunt), and even Nigel (Stanley Tucci), Miranda Priestley’s colleague and confidant. Based on these images, we also know that the main location of the movie will once again be New York. The characters were all pictured wearing high-end brands and expensive outfits, suggesting the second movie will follow the footsteps of the original and deliver some jaw-dropping fashion choices that made the first movie so legendary at the time.
But the landscape has changed drastically since the early 2000s. In the first movie, Andy landing a job at Runway felt like something every young and aspiring intern would die for. However, much of this knowledge can now be learned online. Young and aspiring editors and stylists no longer need to be present in the office, working intense hours and hustling under the reign of someone like Miranda Priestly.
Whether it’s websites like Coursera for comprehensive courses of any kind, MasterClass for gaining valuable insights from the world’s best instructors in a given field, or Casino Guru for educational content about responsible gaming, it’s never been easier to gain information and learn new skills from the comfort of one’s own home. And based on what we know about the sequel so far, it looks like Miranda Priestly is one of the executives hit the hardest by the changing landscape.
The storyline will reportedly see Priestley clashing with Emily, Priestley’s former assistant from the first movie, who is now a high-powered executive at one of the biggest luxury brands (rumored to be Dior). It is said that Emily, together with her billionaire boyfriend, will attempt to buy the struggling Runway–an idea that Priestley is not likely to meet with open arms.
While we don’t really yet know how Andy falls into the picture, we suspect she is no longer with Nate (Adrian Grenier), her boyfriend from the first movie. Grenier is not part of the new cast, and his character was greatly scrutinized in the years following the premiere for the way he “supported” his girlfriend throughout her journey at Runway.
It will be interesting to see how closely Devil Wears Prada 2 follows the plot of the original book sequel, Revenge Wears Prada: The Devil Returns. The book picks up 10 years after Andy quits Runway. Now a married woman, Andy is the co-runner of a successful bridal magazine called The Plunge, which she runs with her now good friend Emily. But when Miranda Priestly reemerges after a decade to acquire and gain control over The Plunge, Emily and Andy must cross paths with Miranda one last time to try and save their magazine.
This sounds quite different from the alleged plot rumors circulating online, so we’ll have to get closer to the release date to see which theory turns out to be true. Speaking of release dates, the timing for the release of this movie is impeccable: The Devil Wears Prada 2 is set to be released on May 1, 2026, just days before the fashion industry’s biggest event of the year, the Met Gala. A very intentional (and smart!) decision given the “fashion” aspect of the movie.
But it’s not just the main stars that are returning: David Frankel is coming back as the film’s director, Wendy Finerman as the original film’s producer, and Aline Brosh McKenna will once again write the screenplay. This combination delivered the audience one of the most memorable movies of the 21st century, and we can’t wait to see what they have in store for us this time around!
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