The Devil Wears Prada 2 (2026) Review

Nearly two decades after The Devil Wears Prada became a cultural hit, the sequel returns with the original characters—Miranda Priestly, Andy Sachs, Emily Charlton, and Nigel Kipling—from the world of Runway.

The first movie focused on Andy, a young aspiring journalist who never wanted to have anything to do with fashion but found herself working for the terrifying Miranda. It was a job she would have thought was beneath her, but it turned into a crash course in ambition, fashion, power, and sacrifice. Andy ultimately rejected the Runway and went her own way instead of being another Miranda.

The question for a sequel that would take place in almost two decades is not “what will happen now?”. It is, “Who did these people become?” The Devil Wears Prada 2 returns to the characters very differently. Andy isn't the innocent girl who didn't know what Chanel was about… anything.

Now, she is a well-known journalist and is back at Runway as the new features editor. The dynamic between her and Miranda has therefore changed completely. Andy isn't walking into Miranda's office as an assistant anymore; she's an adult, confident, with her own career and understanding of the industry. 

Now, however, while Miranda continues to serve as editor-in-chief of Runway, her world has changed. The world of print media is no longer the same, and Runway is facing the challenges of a rapidly evolving publishing space. Her job is at risk, and she has to live in a world that was once relatively comfortable, with her influence no longer so easy to come by.

And this is where Emily comes in. Emily was the first movie's senior assistant and was a devout believer in the Runway universe, and now she's a big-time player at Dior. Now she has what Miranda wants in luxury fashion: influence. The girl who once craved Miranda's approval is now someone Miranda must come to terms with. That is one of the most interesting character changes in The Devil Wears Prada 2, I'd say.

Nigel is still at Runway and is one of Miranda's most trusted people. He's the one who helped Andy understand the fashion world and the one who was ultimately let down when Miranda got the promotion he had been promised. This time Nigel gets more of the recognition he was denied before. In addition to Amari (Simone Ashley) and the return of Irv and Lily from the earlier series, several new characters make their debut, including Kenneth Branagh's Stuart.

The main story is a clash between old-style Runway and new fashion/media.

Miranda must preserve her place and the magazine's future, while Andy finds herself in an environment central to her life, and Emily is a surprise. Well, this configuration is quite a wonderful setup on paper. You will have the most mixed feelings about their character. Andy is undoubtedly the most natural. 

She is no longer trying to prove she's good enough for Miranda. It's satisfying to see her play with Miranda as her peer, if not more, outside of the framework of Runway. Emily Charlton may well be the most intriguing. She was the ambitious assistant in the first movie, in desperate need to survive Miranda's world. Now she's risen high in the fashion realm; Miranda is calling it for her.

That's a nice switcheroo. Nigel also feels like a continuation of the person we knew, not a new character. He’s still Nigel, but older, more established, and more deserving of the authority he was denied previously. Then there’s Miranda. I understand that Miranda is older, that Runway is changing, and that she can’t realistically be the exact same person she was twenty years ago.

I still wanted that Miranda Priestly presence, though. But in the first film, Miranda didn't have to yell. She didn't have to say a word. After a glance, a pause, a still sentence – and everyone was frightened. That's where I felt The Devil Wears Prada 2 fell a bit flat. Here, she feels more vulnerable and more human, which isn't a bad thing to me, but it was at the cost of what made her Miranda. It seemed like they were crippling her.

Oh, and Simone. You'd expect Simone Ashley to have more presence, since the movie was partnered with her. Instead, she feels like a bystander. For someone who felt like she was supposed to be one of these new characters on Runway, she doesn't really have much to make the impression I wanted.

Essentially, the film is about the transfer of power.

The first film was about Andy going into Miranda's world. In The Devil Wears Prada 2, you will learn what happens when everything begins to change in Miranda's world. That's a neat basis for the first movie - Miranda with all the control. Now she faces the challenges of adapting to digital, new corporate priorities, new fashion giants, and people she used to lead.

When Andy steps into the middle of the crossroads, she is the meeting point of the old and new Runway, but when the one who worked under Miranda comes back, maybe too powerful to be the servant, Emily steps in as the character. The problem is that you won’t feel like the movie really drives these points as strongly as it could.

The “combat” isn't physical; it's professional chess. Everyone has something to gain or lose. Miranda is working to save Runway. Andy is on a journey to reconnect with the world she has fled. Emily has her own seat and power to defend. Nigel is torn between his loyalty to Miranda and the magazine's evolving nature.

You will get that wonderful sense of Miranda being one step ahead of everyone. All interactions feel like power struggles. The second game has the same components, but the moves aren't as ruthless. That's where you'll keep wanting more. Nostalgia is certainly the highlight. After all these years, it's great to see Miranda, Emily and Nigel together with Andy.

The outfits are stunning, and although it retains the Runway vibe, the actors feel as familiar with these characters as if they were actually living in the 1920s. You will really like the idea of delving into everyone's lives after the initial event, rather than just copying the first movie. Andy coming back as a confident professional, not the naive assistant, is a sign the first film did something to her.

You will want Emily to be a strong fashion manager, and that's what she was meant to be.

What won’t work for you is that I don't think it's quite as much the first movie as you’d like to believe. But there's something about it; it just doesn't feel the same.

It has the clothes.
It has the cast.
It has Runway.
It has Miranda.

The first movie had this mix of humor, torture, glamour, ambition, and tension. It was like walking into a whole other world. The sequel sometimes recreates that universe instead of living in it naturally. Finally, you wouldn’t believe it had as much cultural impact as the first one. Not being afraid of Miranda was more of an annoyance to me.

You will be more disappointed with Simone's lack of use. Finally, you wouldn’t believe that this would have a cultural effect on people as much as the first one did.  The original became part of popular culture. The outfits, the lines, Miranda's behavior, Andy's transformation, and the whole "Runway universe" are talked about almost 20 years later.

The Devil Wears Prada 2 is fun in parts and memorable, but it's not the same phenomenon. The music fits the sleek fashion-world vibe and helps revitalize the original feel. A few reminiscences that explicitly call back to the first movie are also present, such as music from the Paris scenes. But as before, the film reminds you of the first one and doesn't produce anything quite as memorable.

You will really like The Devil Wears Prada 2!

Perhaps that's why it is so frustrating.It’s not bad. It's nice to see these characters again, and it's stylish, entertaining and nostalgic. The older versions of Andy, Emily and Nigel are all logical, and the changes in their relationships with Miranda are interesting. But it's one thing that can't be just replicated with all the people coming back to the movies.

It was culturally timed, it was new, and their balance was about right. History, nostalgia, and fashion—The Devil Wears Prada 2 has it all. Miranda's less daunting. Simone feels underused. Although the characters have evolved, the movie doesn't seem as transformative as its predecessor. Perhaps revisiting a classic means missing not only the characters but the plot, too. You miss what you were when you first saw them.