Sequels released decades after the original often succeed better than those that are pushed to the public just a few years later. Perhaps time helps to sediment memories of the first film and accumulate a nostalgia that makes viewers want to see it again more and makes them a little more tolerant of repetitions or inconsistent changes compared to the original. ‘The Devil Wears Prada‘ with serial number 2 is a very faithful sequel, although exactly twenty years have passed between the stories and characters of the two films. The director is the same (and he didn’t change his style much), the characters are the same, the actors are the same, the New York where ‘Runway’ magazine is headquartered is the same, but the fashion and publishing industries have changed radically. The film depicts the confrontation of those who are now veterans (not to call them dinosaurs) of this world with changes, but the emphasis is not placed on technical aspects (although we have enough filmed fashion shows). In one of the film’s scenes, a team of experts hired to ‘optimize’ company operations (which often means layoffs) declame the mantra ‘it’s all about people’. The writers’ intention is ironic, but the film’s power – as much as it is – can be found precisely here, in my opinion: in the characters.
Oit of the original quartet of characters, Andy Sachs is the one in the center of the story. Having become a journalist, she finds out on the very evening she receives an important professional award that she has been laid off as a result of the restructuring of the magazine she worked for. Left jobless, she enthusiastically accepts the proposal of the owner of ‘Runway’ to return as content director to the magazine she had left two decades ago, also run diabolically by the ambitious, snobbish and dominant Miranda Priestly. The magazine needs a pen to save its morale standing, after a scandal caused by the promotion of a subcontractor who does not provide humane working conditions for employees. Andy and Miranda are in conflict again, the style director Nigel tries to mediate between them, and their former colleague Emily, now coupled with a super-rich divorced man, is preparing a revenge that could blow up not only the relationships between the characters, but even the entire institution.
Those who are fascinated by the world of fashion will probably find in this film quite a lot of aesthetic pleasure. I confess that I am not among them, so I had to seek my satisfaction in other facets of this film. The story sings praises to the high-end fashion industry, but also to investigative journalism and the printed press, but it does so without much originality, and the solutions to the conflicts that seemed insoluble are … well … like in the movies. The acting performances are remarkable, however. Meryl Streep returns after a five-year absence from the big screens, reprising and amplifying the role of Miranda and adding the anxieties of age to it, making us feel again how lucky we are to have her contemporary with us and in top form. For Anne Hathaway, this is the second of the five films released in 2026 in which she plays and every moment of her on screen is impressive. In the company of so many ambitious women, it is Stanley Tucci‘s role to add a ‘softer’ dose. Emily Blunt completes the quartet, but her role is more schematic and less developed. Kenneth Branagh does not have either a role up with his immense talent either, but he plays the role of Miranda’s new partner with obvious pleasure. Several cameo appearances by celebrities must be watched carefully, as some only appear for a few seconds on screen. Lady Gaga does one song. The script has quite a few gaps: undeveloped characters, schematic solutions or banal plots that are not connected to the main plot (such as Anne’s romantic plot). But in the end, according to experts, it’s all about peopkle and their feelings. I have no doubt that many viewers will like ”The Devil Wears Prada 2, but I guess that among them will be many of those who liked the original.