The Devil Wears Prada 2 Review: Déjà Runway

An almost identical plot to the first film and the lack of character growth weaken The Devil Wears Prada 2 while undercutting the original’s depth.

Our favorite high-fashion magazine is taking a hit for endorsing a boutique brand that uses sweatshop labor, and its reputation is at stake. How can ‘Runway’ recover its credibility when – to use art director Nigel’s (Stanley Tucci, of Supernova) words – its Editor-in-Chief is being “blamed for absolutely everything”? When Irv Ravitz (Tibor Feldman, of The Good Wife), the chairman of ‘Runway”s parent company ‘Elias-Clarke’, comes across an article about Andy’s recent demise – knowing absolutely nothing about her history with the magazine – he hires her as ‘Runway”s new Features Editor, without even telling Miranda.

Miranda, Andy, and Nigel are reunited, and the former’s previous assistant Emily (Emily Blunt, of The Smashing Machine) – now a senior executive at Dior – soon enters the picture too, when our trio visit their most important advertiser to prevent the fashion house from dropping them. “You are a CEO’s whim and all I need to know is bide my time until you fail,” Miranda tells Andy not long after their reunion, making it clear that not only does she have zero recollection of the latter having ever been “one of the Emilys” in the past, but she hasn’t changed one bit since then.

And so, our hero sets off to rescue the magazine’s reputation and prove her worth to Miranda, while the latter stays set in her ways, too preoccupied with a promotion that might still be within reach if she plays her cards well.

The Devil Wears Prada 2 finds a fantastic way to bring our protagonists back together that doesn’t involve either reaching back to the others but sees them reunited by chance instead, in a plausible scenario that had the potential to take our story to exciting new places. Unlike the first movie, which was loosely based on Lauren Weisberger’s bestselling novel, this much anticipated sequel is also a completely original story, which gave screenwriter Aline Brosh McKenna (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend) the possibility of truly expanding the franchise’s material in interesting ways.

But if the plot sounds a little familiar, it’s because it is. Though twenty years have passed since a naive aspiring journalist met the ruthless editor-in-chief for whom she’d end up working, and the first movie treated us to an ending that gave both Andy and Miranda the potential to grow and evolve in very promising ways, The Devil Wears Prada 2 sees them both regress into their previous roles, with the exact same aims and challenges as those they already confronted in the first film. Andy is a new hire at ‘Runway’, where assistants are treated a little better but still bossed around by a new and improved ‘Emily’ – the sharp and independent Amari (Simone Ashley, of Bridgerton) – who gets to be called by her own name and even correct Miranda on outdated language and political correctness.

Once again, Andy finds a friend in Nigel, who provides her with clothes and advice. Still, she spends her time second guessing Miranda to get her to like her, until she’s given a challenge that will finally prove her worth to the most demanding Editor-in-Chief in the fashion industry. Needless to say, there’s a love interest, though Australian contractor Peter (Patrick Brammall) is not nearly as interesting as Andy’s first (and second!) love in the previous movie. And there’s a possible threat to Miranda’s career that Andy becomes very invested in, which will test their relationship and ultimately help them both grow. In both storyline and character development, the narrative is nearly identical to that of the first film, which makes our characters and their adventures significantly less exciting.

Don’t get me wrong: there’s plenty of nostalgia here to keep you entertained, and spending time with Andy, Miranda, Nigel, Emily and some of the new characters is more than enough to make The Devil Wears Prada 2 an enjoyable sequel. The costumes are stunning too, and you’ll spend most of the time trying to take mental pictures of pieces of jewelry or items of clothing to google as you exit the screening. And though the film does take a while to really start, particularly when it comes to Miranda’s part of the story, everyone’s acting is fantastic. Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway and Emily Blunt seamlessly reprise their roles, and it’s a joy to watch them back together, but the standouts are Stanley Tucci as Nigel, who’s bound to make you emotional several times, and Simone Ashley as Amari, who just oozes charisma.

Among the other new characters, Lucy Liu (Kill Bill: Vol. 1) shines as entrepreneur Sasha Barnes, though her character feels more like a plot device than a well-rounded human being. Miranda’s second assistant Charlie (brilliantly played by Overcompensating‘s Caleb Hearon), is a welcome addition to the cast, and his interactions with Andy are very sweet. And then there’s Lady Gaga, whose cameo as herself sees her have an awkward conversation with Miranda that doesn’t feel relevant to the plot in the slightest; thankfully, her performance of her new single “RUNWAY” at a show in Milan delivers the style and energy we’ve come to expect from the star.

There’s also a moment, halfway through the film, when something takes place that I really didn’t see coming, and while it won’t be spoiled in this review, it will bring you right back to the car scene in the first film, where Miranda and Andy have an iconic confrontation that would define their relationship in new ways. “I see a great deal of myself in you,” Miranda had told Andy back then right after betraying Nigel, which had let our protagonist see her employer’s true colors and eventually led her to walk away from the fashion world and stay true to herself. The Devil Wears Prada 2 occasionally manages to replicate that magic, and when it does, it shows us the evolution we needed to see for some of these characters, warming our hearts with moments that have been a long way coming.

Still, these moments are few in a movie that mostly rehashes old threads, especially when it comes to Andy and Miranda’s relationship and to some of the choices they make. The ending in particular doesn’t even come close to the original’s, tapping into melodrama instead of giving us a more meaningful evolution that uses what we already know about them to bring them somewhere new.

If you’re a fan of the first movie, you’ll probably have a good time with The Devil Wears Prada 2. Still, given how flawlessly the original film balanced comedy, drama, and heart, this sequel feels like a step down for the iconic franchise. Come for the nostalgia, but don’t expect it to reach the same heights as its predecessor.

The Devil Wears Prada 2 will be released globally in theatres on May 1, 2026.