I watched Devil Wears Prada 2- I left with disappointed 6-word verdict | Celebrity News | Showbiz & TV

Like millions of other people, I am a huge fan of the The Devil Wears Prada. But here’s my six-word verdict: The sequel isn’t one we need. The 2006 dramedy flick set in the world of glossy fashion magazine Runway really captured the zeitgeist and generated millions of memes and GIFs, ensuring it remained a part of the pop culture landscape for the past two decades. Meryl Streep’s performance as pithy editor Miranda Priestly was iconic – Alex Kingston even channelled her for Strictly Come Dancing‘s movie week in 2025.

Given that it made $ 326.6 million worldwide, I’m sure it seemed like a no-brainer to make a sequel, and many others, I’m sure, were extremely excited for it. But having seen the film, I now feel some things are better left alone. In the two decades since the film was released, the world, and the characters, have changed hugely, and the central premise – the elitism of a magazine like Runway – doesn’t seem nearly as relevant. Indeed, this is a key plot point, as the once-lauded tome, based on the fashion Bible Vogue, is now a thin shadow of its former self. Its key presence is now online, and the movie’s premise rests on attempts to revitalise it.

In a world where everyone is competing for likes on their social media posts, the inner sanctum of Runway doesn’t seem nearly as elite as it once was. Influencers now wield almost as much power as magazine editors, and Miranda, while still iconic, is something of a dinosaur as she clings to past glories.

Although Anne Hathaway’s Andy Sachs has long since moved on from the title and is a serious award-winning journalist, she returns as features editor when she and her colleagues are fired from their worthy roles by text message. Despite the fact that she is accomplished and confident, she seemingly can still be intimidated by a withering glare from Miranda.

That’s what makes this so sad. The world has moved on, but the characters haven’t really. They are still stuck emotionally in 2006. While that makes for some very funny interactions and moments, including several throwbacks for the fans, it is not very fulfilling. It is well known that the original movie was based on real-life events, and the real people the leads are based on have moved on significantly.

As of April this year the inspiration for Miranda, Anna Wintour, now 76, serves as the Global Chief Content Officer and Artistic Director at Condé Nast and he has stepped back from the daily editor-in-chief duties at US Vogue, although she still oversees editorial strategy for Vogue worldwide and Condé Nast brands like GQ and Vanity Fair, while managing the Met Gala. This job is merely being dangled over Miranda’s head in this movie, and she hasn’t progressed at all.

Meanwhile, the real life Andy, author Lauren Weisberger, who penned the book on which the franchise is based, has moved on from magazines and journalism and written several more novels – including a 2013 sequel to The Devil Wears Prada entitled Revenge Wears Prada

While not based on fact, this would have made a much better sequel as Miranda’s former assistants, Andy and Emily (played by Emily Blunt in the movies), team up to create The Plunge, a high-end, aspirational wedding magazine which Miranda wants to acquire for her own publishing company, as at least it shows character progression.

I can’t fault any of the performances – the entire returning cast understood the assignment and the newbies are great (although Kenneth Branagh is wasted). It is also an incredibly stylish movie, as you would expect. But ultimately it seems to serve more as a redemption arc for the character of Miranda, humanising her – and we really didn’t need that.

If this had been made a few years after the original, it would have made more sense. But the characters are frozen in time and still clinging to a world that no longer exists. Much like Runway, this sequel, coming so long after the original, risks irrelevance.