‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’ Review: A Sharp Sequel That Turns Fashion Into a Fight for Journalism’s Survival
Am I wearing the “support media journalism” pin from Chanel? Yes, I am and so is The Devil Wears Prada 2. Wearing it, flaunting it, and hoping it starts a trend with it.
The O.G team in director David Frankel and writer Aline Brosh McKenna reunite the original cast after a 20‑year gap and dish out something beyond just a damn good sequel; it weaponizes the iconography and your love for the 2006 cult classic to make a valiant statement about the weight of local publications in real time. It’s the last thing I expected from a studio summer tentpole dramedy to do this. I had to pull an “is this fucking play about us?” because it's a thorough, satirical reflection of modern journalism's near-dystopian rapid deterioration, publications gasping for air in a suffocating media landscape. If nobody got us, The Devil Wears Prada 2 got us. Moreover, it is a fantastic sequel recaptures the predecessor’s spirit with its own charm and elegance. At least whenever it doesn’t have high reverence about its own past.
Image copyright (©) Courtesy of 20th Century Studios
MPA Rating: PG-13 (for strong language and some suggestive references.)
Runtime: 1 Hour and 59 Minutes
Language: English
Production Companies: 20th Century Studios, Wendy Finerman Productions, Sunswept Entertainment
Distributor: 20th Century Studios
Director: David Frankel
Screenwriter: Aline Brosh McKenna
Cast: Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt, Stanley Tucci, Kenneth Branagh, Lucy Liu, Simone Ashley, Justin Theroux, B.J. Novak, Helen J. Shen, Caleb Herron
U.S Release Date: May 1, 2026
In 2026, Andrea Sachs (Anne Hathaway) is a thriving investigative journalist. Just as she’s about to receive an award at a ceremony, she learns via company‑wide email that she and all her fellow writers have been laid off. AHHH, PAIN! Meanwhile, Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep) faces a PR nightmare at Runway, and Conde Nast-like parent company Elias-Clark chairman Irv Ravitz (Tibor Feldman), plus his vest‑wearing, tech‑bro son Jay (B.J. Novak), scramble for a solution. Enter Andy, hired to run Runway's new features department, unbeknownst to Miranda and Nigel (Stanley Tucci). She tries to reshape the pub: wooing ad buyers, crossing paths with now‑Dior‑executive Emily (Emily Blunt), and attempting to score an interview with elusive entrepreneur Sasha Barnes (Lucy Liu), all while “trying to do something right” and still seeking Miranda's approval. But as unforeseen forces arise, Miranda, Nigel, and Andy must keep Runway afloat and out of the hands of tech undertakers.
Same icons, new era, no missed steps.
(L-R): Anne Hathaway as Andy Sachs and Meryl Streep as Miranda Priestly in 20th Century Studios' THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA 2. Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios. © 2026 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.
Like Cinderella 20 years after her “happily ever after,” stepping into her glass slipper and going, “I'm still that bitch,” Prada 2’s returning ensemble seamlessly fits back into their roles, as if no time has passed since 2006. Streep is still iconic as Miranda, elusive, yet grounded in humanity. Tucci is the king of “straight playing gay,” returning to form as Nigel. Blunt's Emily, who bears more emotional weight, is still a delight as she is compelling. The new additions – first assistant Amari (Simone Ashley), second assistant Charlie (Caleb Hearon), and a hilarious MVP Jin Chao (Helen J. Shen) – are fun.
Hathaway is a remarkable standout. She conveys Sachs' growth – assured, experienced – while retaining her lawfully good, perky Northwestern nature. In my Mother Mary review, I joked about her Ella Enchanted nostalgia with her fantastic vocals. In Prada 2, her boundless charisma and 2026 glow‑up put me in my Princess Diaries nostalgia; Hathaway is one of the most charismatic working actresses of our time. You’ll probably hear that sentiment again for the three other features she’s dropping this year.
The Devil Wears Prada 2 focuses on characters navigating the modern digital journalism workspace while updating Runway's in‑house culture – and Miranda's progress (well, as much as you'd expect). It's workplace commentary that yields hilarious bits about adapting to contemporary culture, or Miranda being more irritated by it, trying to avoid HR complaints while retaining her cutthroat manner. The film follows a more visible narrative than a character study, but that doesn't disrupt the return to high fashion. The love for fashion is still in its DNA. Molly Rogers' costume design left us gagged; it’s so extravagant, it's maddening that it's not on IMAX. Frankel's classic glamour-infused direction across fashion destination sequences and accompanying soundtrack adds to the wonder of the field – something that’s rarely seen in modern mid‑budget movies.
Prada 2 deftly navigate the brutal modern media landscape with a visceral rage.
(L-R) Stanley Tucci as Nigel Kipling and Anne Hathaway as Andy Sachs in 20th Century Studios' THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA 2. Photo by Macall Polay. © 2026 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.
The film's most critical arena is its scathing discussion of today's bleak digital media culture. Whereas the original was a horror story of surviving as an assistant, Prada 2 expands into a horror tale for journalists that hits too close to home. If you have a friend in media journalism, chances are 2025 was brutal – monopolies consolidating, tech bro takeovers, chairmen drooling over AI instead of human articles, shuttered pubs, endless layoffs. If I add one more thing, I'll get violent. I'm one of hundreds of writers trying to survive month to month. (Anyway, subscribe to Rendy Reviews.) It felt like we were in an invisible dome, drowning just to get readers to care about cultural purveyors. McKenna seems as pissed as we are; it’s blood-boiling yet so authentic. Man, if this movie had been in production a little longer, they might have added a snide remark about every writer ending up on Substack these days.
This has a visceral effect on Miranda and Sachs’ newfound dynamic. There's a tense uneasiness as the person Andy once feared and helped self-actualize her in her strive to impress and gets rolled over, emasculated by finance men of little IQ but an eye for profit. The casting of Novack and Justin Theroux was insanely effective, with the latter playing Benji Barnes, Sasha’s former fat-kid-loser-turned-billionaire ex-husband, whom Emily shacks up with. Despite being so comical in his incompetence, he satirizes your modern tech “geniuses” looking for profit with an uncaring, narrow mindset, making the film’s commentary powerful in a later scene with Priestly.
With its media commentary, Prada 2 sacrifices (or gambles) some of the novelty that made the original a cult classic. But for a highly anticipated summer tentpole blockbuster to discuss today's crucial reality in such a bold, cutting fashion makes me respect it immensely, especially compared to other recent sequels that only play greatest hits. Mind you, this film does that too – from the opening frame of Sachs wiping steam from her bathroom mirror to visual callbacks and remixes across its whole story. Nevertheless, it plays as a dire time capsule that remains entertaining.
McKenna's aversion to digital's uprising is loud in a subtle way, bringing back rare tropes like Andy starting a relationship with a charming Aussie builder (Patrick Brammall) via a legit, heartwarming meet‑cute. That's truer nostalgia than any self‑reference the film throws at you.
For a movie about Runway going digital to accommodate the average reader, its overly promotional material – including a real Runway magazine I picked up at an NYC pop‑up, penned by real writers – adds so much depth to the story.
Prada 2 is mostly great whenever it doesn’t have high self-reverence for its predecessor.
(Center) Emily Blunt as Emily Charlton in 20th Century Studios' THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA 2. Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios. © 2026 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.
Despite the accuracy of our digital media landscape, Prada 2 finds itself in a precarious spot: it doesn't have all the answers on how to stop the collapse, and at times, its thematic through line gets tangled. The resolution works well enough for the movie’s story, but the grounded satire and heavy opening hook made me wish it went further. The film presents a motif around the hard‑working journalists who run Runway. Yet, like many legacy follow‑ups, it gets too high on its own sequel supply, undercutting its potential to bring its message home, remixing the original's beats with a new coat of paint several times.
You've heard about the editing cuts, from Sydney Sweeney getting removed (*faint* oh, nooooo…) to someone I know who was credited and had her scene cut. Though most of the runtime flows well, the faltering bits of not knowing how to wrap up the story rear their head toward the epilogue. It concludes with an endless string of gift‑wrapping bows that lack structural cohesion, prioritizing fan‑service, Hallmark-card closure rather than a tight high note.
FINAL STATEMENT
The Devil Wears Prada 2 is a glamorous, hilarious, and uncomfortably timely sequel that sweaponizes nostalgia into a scathing, all-too-real satire of modern media, serving looks and hard truths in equal measure.
