THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA 2 Review: Milquetoast, As These Things Go

The Devil Wears Prada 2 (2026) opens with the very same scene its predecessor does -- Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway) wipes a fogged up mirror, and the music plays.

This sequel comes 20 years after the release of the clever and beloved comedy. While entertaining enough, it lacks the electricity that made the first one so iconic. Full of visual and verbal callbacks, the movie feels like an echo of the original rather than an extension of familiar characters' stories.

The characters in question are Andy Sachs, a journalist who reluctantly returns to work for the fashion magazine Runway under the direction of Miranda Priestly, the talented but draconian Editor-in-Chief of the magazine, played by Meryl Streep. Stanley Tucci stars as her loyal coworker, Nigel, and Emily Blunt returns as the ambitious Emily.

Roles and dynamics have shifted. Emily has left the magazine and is working for Dior. Miranda Priestly is tired of the digital age and is being cancelled for being associated with a sweatshop scandal. Nigel remains at heel. Andy, in a nod to the very real book that gave birth to the first movie, is going to write an expose about her boss.

That plot point is an interesting way to tie the film to reality and make it a tense experience for viewers, but unfortunately, it fizzles out. Many times, the movie engages with our current climate. For example, the editors worry about how to make digital content rather than a physical magazine. Someone mentions Ozempic.

The first five minutes feature Andy and her newspaper team getting laid off, and she gives a passionate speech about the importance of journalism. The commentary on the state of the fashion industry and the world at large is a great tactic to make the film distinct, yet it feels more like a valiant attempt.

The thread that is explored the most is Emily's relationship with a billionaire, who she calls her "sponsor," and even that ends with a glib conversation about forgiveness. For a movie so concerned with replicating itself, down to relying on the same plot about saving Miranda's job as Editor-in-Chief and even featuring that blue vest, it fails to add the cattiness and teeth that made the original's dialogue so fun. This script relies on buzzwords but foregoes conflict about them, playing it safe and making for a duller, PC version of the vibrant characters we know and love. It was that harsh directness that made the moments of vulnerability work.

On paper, Andy has an Australian love interest that makes this a rom-com, technically, about balancing work and a relationship. The film addresses complaints audiences have made for years about the first film, but disliking some plot points or characters is necessary. What if Andy had a more supportive boyfriend? Not much. And there's not a lot of chemistry either.

"How do you follow up a masterpiece?" my girlfriend asked me. The Devil Wears Prada 2 seems to find a decent answer by focusing on the cultural legacy of its predecessor. The time passes quick. There's a fun outfit sequence set to "Vogue." Lady Gaga sings.

It's not bad, but it's no The Devil Wears Prada.

The film is still playing in North American theaters, via 20th Century Studios. Visit Fandango for locations and showtimes.