The Devil Wears Prada 2 (2026)
SHOULD I SEE IT?
YES
While a step down from its predecessor, I do wish I could watch Streep, Hathaway, Blunt, and Tucci appear in pretty much everything together. They have effortless chemistry on screen.
Great supporting characters keep things light and breezy, while Tucci kind of steals the movie right out from under his co-stars.
Taps into relevant themes about the economy, journalism, and how we consume things for entertainment.
NO
The first 45 minutes or so are … not good. The movie rushes through plot points and is edited almost in a maniacal way. It gets better, but not until Hathaway’s character’s life starts to slow down.
Tosses in several subplots that are unnecessary or bring next to nothing to the overall story being told.
Plays more like a sitcom at times and though there are some emotional moments that stand out, this movie struggles with a consistent cadence for the viewer.
OUR REVIEW
Glossy and fresh-pressed, with plenty of snark, The Devil Wears Prada 2 reunites Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt, and Stanley Tucci after 20 years, in a sequel that reminds us why, over time, audiences have elevated 2006’s The Devil Wears Prada in such high regard. Together, the quartet have effortless chemistry. And though they have lives that literally no one watching can relate to, we laugh with them, swoon with them, and embrace their selfish nature and questionable loyalties.
I remember thinking that the first film was really just a bustling office’s gossip culture put on screen. The megalomaniacal boss, the chatter happening behind their back and around them, the unexpected demands of a busy work day. Played to fantastic levels of ridiculousness, there was a relatability to office assistants Andy (Hathaway) and Emily (Blunt) navigating competing interests while trying to survive the whims of a diabolical boss - fashion editor Miranda Priestly (Streep) who delights in intimidating everyone around her.
This time around, with HR imposing behavior restrictions on Miranda, the one constant, calming force in this world is Nigel (Tucci). As Miranda’s right-hand man, the veteran actor remains delightful, sarcastic, but caring in the role. He pretty much steals the show, even as Andy is now an award-winning journalist and Emily leads the creative team as a senior executive at a global fashion brand.
Screenwriter Aline Brosh McKenna doesn’t quite maximize the potential of that storyline: the loyal assistant who gave up everything, only to see those he mentored find greater success. Tucci nonetheless finds the emotional beats necessary to let us see those thoughtful reflections present in Nigel as Andy returns to the company.
In all honesty though, be prepared: The Devil Wears Prada 2 starts out really rough before settling itself down. Edited with the subtlety of whiplash, the first half runs at breakneck speed. Scenes feel clipped, the bare minimum of words is said before we smash-cut to another scene elsewhere. The movie is paced like a sitcom - nothing breathes, things rush by too quickly to feel important, and the dialogue spoon-feeds us every detail possible.
But about the midway point, as life settles down for Andy, so does the film. And that’s where this sequel started to win me over. But before then, we rush through what would likely constitute several episodes of information if this were a television series.
McKenna taps into some real-world complexity to this hyperbolic world. In the opening moments, just as Andy and others on her writing team are winning awards at a journalist’s banquet, they learn they have all been terminated. A running theme throughout the film is the future of journalism. Nigel is frustrated with Runway Magazine’s shift to digital, while Andy is forced to take her desire to write thoughtful, full-length features and adapt them to optimized SEO-friendly website articles and her success is measured in clicks, views, and reach.
Andy rejoins Runway after her impassioned acceptance speech at the awards gala catches the eye of Miranda’s boss, Irv (Tibor Feldman). Reeling from a PR disaster, Irv and his son Jay (B.J. Novak), convince Andy to go work for her former employer as a features editor. Claiming to not remember her, Miranda begrudgingly agrees and aims to make life unbearable for her new hire.
Subplots come and go. Andy’s interest in an Australian architect (Peter Brammell) is an unneeded distraction. The introduction of a Jeff Bezos-like manchild (Justin Theroux), who becomes something of an adversary for Miranda through his connection to Emily, feels forced as well.
Unfortunately, with Blunt tied to that storyline, that means the film’s best moments come in the interplay between Streep, Hathaway, and Tucci. There are also two great supporting performances from Simone Ashley, as Miranda’s personal assistant, and Helen J. Shen, as the plucky upstart assigned to support Andy’s new role. They both exhibit wonderful timing and clearly can hold their own with the main characters.
As Andy becomes intertwined with Miranda’s day-to-day life, I kept thinking about the HBO series, Hacks and the dynamic exhibited between Jean Smart’s aging stand-up comic and Hannah Einbender’s head writer role. A very similar “I Need You/Go Away” dynamic exists between Miranda and Andy, which the film explores with a few quieter, more emotional scenes where Streep reminds us that she can elevate any material into something we believe and feel for ourselves.
By the time we get to an attempted corporate purchase of Runway, a snappy cameo that rekindles a long-simmering conflict with Miranda, and a consequential trip to Milan for Fashion Week, The Devil Wears Prada 2 is comfortable again in its own skin and we, in turn, are sucked back in.
Melodramatic silliness be damned, the masterfully designed costumes, winning performances, and soundtrack full of modern and throwback dance music does a lot of heavy lifting here. This may not feel like the most original of concepts or ideas and some of the film’s storylines fall flat.
But seeing these four actors slide back into these roles, and have a ball working with each other again, was exactly the kind of nostalgic dopamine hit I didn’t realize I had been missing.
CAST & CREW
Starring: Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt, Stanley Tucci, Justin Theroux, Kenneth Branagh, Tracie Thoms, Tibor Feldman, B.J. Novak, Simone Ashley, Lucy Liu, Patrick Brammall, Caleb Hearon, Helen J. Shen, Rachel Bloom, Pauline Chalamet
Director: David Frankel
Written by: Aline Brosh McKenna
Based upon characters created by Lauren Weisberger
Release Date: May 1, 2026
20th Century Studios