The Devil Wears Prada 2 Review

20^th Century Studios has returned to the world of Runway with a sequel set 20 years after the first.

Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep) and Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway) are both at a low ebb. Andy has become unemployed after her newspaper gets shut down, and Miranda suffers a PR disaster after endorsing a brand that used sweatshops. Andy gets hired by Runway’s publisher to be the new features editor, much to Miranda’s annoyance. The pair have to work together to repair Runway’s reputation in a changing media landscape.

The original Devil Wears Prada was not just a hit; it was a cultural event. It made a boatload of money, gave Meryl Streep one of her most iconic roles and earned her one of her many Oscar nominations, ensured Anne Hathaway became a star, and gave Emily Blunt her first Hollywood role. It’s a film popular with female audiences. The sequel has come out at a time when female-oriented films have been smash hits (e.g. Barbie and Wicked), and nostalgia rules pop culture.

The sequel brought back the four main actors, and they acted as if they had never left the roles. Fans of the original film will be happy because the actors did make their characters so memorable. Streep was effortless as Miranda, the ice queen who could devastate anyone with a put-down or a raised eyebrow, yet still showed this ruthless tyrant had some humanity. In the sequel, she was in a weakened position. Stanley Tucci was seamless in reprising his role as Nigel Kipling, one of the few people Miranda respects. Whilst Emily Charlton (Emily Blunt) remained able to give a biting comment, but now in a position of power. Andy had changed the most. The first film was about her metamorphosis from a ‘dowdy’ woman to a confident and fashionable writer.

In the sequel, she was fighting for journalistic integrity in a changing world. The Devil Wears Prada 2 emphasised how much things have changed over the past 20 years. In the first film, Runway was able to live in the world of luxury, but in 2026, the magazine had become mainly an online publication that needed clickbait to make money. Budgets were slashed and were set to be cut further. To survive, publications needed to be a part of a media conglomerate or have a rich benefactor. It’s a sad state of affairs that this has happened to our media landscape. The filmmakers were arguing for creative freedom in a world of corporate slopification.

One of the new characters in the film was a cross between our major tech overlords. Benji Barnes (Justin Theroux) was a programmer who had procedures to make him handsome, wanted to go to Mars, and became a simp for his attractive girlfriend since he was overlooked by girls when he was young. Theroux has made a career out of playing dodgy characters, so it was easy to be suspicious of Benji. B. J. Novak played a neo-baby whose main concern was engagement and ran his business through management consultants.

Whilst the sequel had some new ideas, it was a familiar experience. There were repeated plot points, like Andy needing to obtain an interview with an elusive figure, Andy getting another Australian boyfriend, and the film builds up to another event in a fashion-centric city. This time, Milan gets the limelight. Even small details were repackaged, like Miranda having another well-dressed English assistant who put the second assistant through his paces.

The Devil Wears Prada 2 will be a comfort film for fans of the original. It was a perfectly pleasant thanks to the cast, witty jabs and its themes about the media.