“The Devil Wears Prada 2” Is Coming—But Does It Have the Range?
My darlings, it’s happening. After nearly two decades of high fashion worship, cerulean discourse, and the eternal trauma of Runway's closet cleanout, The Devil Wears Prada 2 is officially in development. And in a plot twist no one saw coming—Meryl Streep is back.
Yes, Meryl Streep, our queen of thespian restraint, famously averse to sequels, is allegedly returning as the formidable Miranda Priestly. Yet here we are, teetering on the kitten heel of curiosity, wondering: why now, and what could this sequel possibly say that the original didn’t already stitch into pop culture history? The woman who made a flared nostril scarier than Voldemort is back. However, the bigger shock? The clothes (so far) aren’t it.
Let’s unpack this.
The Sequel Nobody Expected (and Still Can’t Believe)
Let’s be honest: no one was asking for Devil Wears Prada 2, at least I wasn’t. The original was perfection—a high-gloss exposé of fashion industry elitism, millennial ambition, and the politics of power dressing. It ended on a note of bittersweet liberation. Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway) found her voice. Miranda vanished into a black town car like a couture ghost. We moved on. Or so we thought.
Still, why would Meryl return? She once said sequels were “unnecessary unless the story demanded it.” So…does this story finally demand it? Or did someone finally offer her a cheque big enough to pay for a thousand pairs of Chanel boots?
Why Is This Film Even Happening?
Why now? Industry whispers suggest the sequel draws inspiration from Lauren Weisberger’s 2013 follow-up novel Revenge Wears Prada and her 2023 book When Life Gives You Lululemons, with Emily Charlton (Emily Blunt) front and center. But more plausibly: Hollywood has entered its nostalgia cash-grab era, and Prada is a ready-made legacy IP.
To decode the motive, we must look at the post-COVID media landscape. Hollywood is mining nostalgia like it’s gold-studded Gucci. We’re in the era of reboots, remakes, legacy sequels—and The Devil Wears Prada is both an untapped goldmine and a feminist touchstone.
On a serious note as to why I believe Meryl Streep joined in on the sequel, I have two possible explanations. One theory: she’s doing it for narrative closure. Another: the writers pitched a version where Miranda Priestly is vulnerable, legacy-obsessed, and now navigating a collapsing print industry. That’s juicy. That’s Oscar bait.
Let’s be real, Miranda Priestly today would be fighting TikTok influencers, AI-generated style guides, and fashion weeks livestreamed to death. Imagine her trying to uphold couture integrity in a world where fast fashion has a quicker life and death cycle than a fruit fly.
Where We Left Off (And Why It Mattered)
The original film ended with Andy Sachs walking away—not just from Miranda, but from an industry that demanded she shape-shift to survive. It wasn’t a simple “good vs evil” narrative— it was an elegant dissection of ambition, femininity, and compromise. Miranda’s final smirk in the limo? That wasn’t defeat. That was respect. She knew Andy could go further than her precisely because she left.
Emily (Emily Blunt) got Paris. Nigel (Stanley Tucci) got played. And Miranda stayed on her throne—lonely but still an icon.
A sequel risks undoing that pristine finality. But, if written well, it could ask: what happens when legends outlive their empires? Is it now the time for Miranda to consider dropping down from her throne, especially in a fast paced, ever changing world where people cannot enjoy the simplicity and heavy effort of a beautiful print? Who knows.
The Fashion Archetypes: How Clothes Make the Character
Before we even get to the shoes, let’s remember: The Devil Wears Prada wasn’t just about fashion—it was about transformation. And no one underwent more subtle metamorphoses than our holy trinity: Nigel, Emily, and Miranda.
Nigel – The Devotee
For Nigel, fashion isn’t just flair. It’s salvation. Raised in a small town where difference was met with disdain, he found refuge in glossy spreads and Italian seams. Fashion didn’t just inspire him—it freed him. It carved a path from invisibility to visibility, from margin to main character. Every well-cut blazer and draped scarf he wears is a reminder: he made it. And he did so in silk.
“I’m just one stomach flu away from my goal weight,” might be Emily’s line, but Nigel’s hunger was never physical—it was aspirational.
Photo: Pinterest
Emily – The Aspirant
Emily is fashion’s most loyal foot soldier. Her love for couture is less about creativity, and more about status and proximity. She doesn’t want to change the system—she wants to earn her place in it. Her dream? Paris. Her mantra? Be skinny, wear Valentino, serve Miranda, and don’t trip on your Louboutins.
And yet, for all her surface-level vanity, Emily’s fashion obsession is a form of control. In a chaotic world, dressing well is her armor. But even the most devoted soldiers fall—and hers comes via a spectacular (and ironic) illness, just days before her dream trip. A harsh reminder that fashion, too, can chew you up and spit you out in couture crumbs.
Photo: Yahoo
Miranda – The Institution
Let’s not get it twisted. Miranda isn’t in fashion. She is fashion. She doesn’t follow trends, she breathes them into existence. She’s the reason Nigel found a future, the reason Emily found ambition, and the reason Andy’s entire worldview shattered like an off-season Fendi sample.
Miranda is brutal, brilliant, and impossible. And that’s not a flaw. It’s a commentary. The industry is harsh, hierarchical, and hungry—and Miranda is its perfect mirror. Her coldness isn’t cruelty; it’s survival.
Without Miranda, there is no story. No Nigel. No Emily. And certainly no Andy Sachs.
Photo: Cosmopolitan
Fashion Faux-Pas? Not So Fetch, Darling
As you can see all the characters are emotionally and narratively rich for “The Devil Wears Prada” to pick up from where it left off. There is so much to tell, especially about characters who are undergoing a current change in the fashion industry. However, here’s where the real concern lies. Leaked photos and early costume concepts (allegedly from test fittings and pre-production design boards) show looks that would make Nigel gag—and not in the good way.
Photo: Harpar’s Bazaar
So far, we’ve seen suspicious amounts of flat tailoring, beige monotones, and corporate-core (which of course many people will argue that it is a corporate job so dress accordingly, but can we make it less boring?). Is this Miranda Priestly in a recession? Where is the drama? The volume? The architectural silhouettes that made the original an Oscar-nominated fashion tour de force?
Photo: WWD
Photo: Media Indonesia
We get it: fashion has shifted since 2006. Normcore happened. Sustainability matters. But The Devil Wears Prada wasn’t supposed to follow trends—it defined them. The original served Galliano, Gaultier, vintage Yves Saint Laurent, actual archival Chanel. This one? Giving off-the-rack realness with a side of Silicon Valley CEO.
And don't get me started on Andy. If her return features American Eagle jeans and Veja sneakers—oh so God help me, I’m calling the Fashion Police—literally.
Our Sources Data:
TikTok sentiment is mostly neutral (66%), with a significant positive sentiment (31%) and very low negative sentiment (3%). Meanwhile, Instagram sentiment shows more variability: positive reaction is about 33.3%, and negative reaction is relatively high at 26.7%.
What Should Happen in Prada 2? My Predictions
Miranda’s Era of Relevance Crisis: In a digital age of TikTok stylists and AI-generated Vogue covers, Miranda has to either adapt—or perish. Picture her walking into a Gen-Z-run newsroom where Crocs are unironically worn with couture.
Emily Charlton’s Career Renaissance: As a PR exec in the suburbs turned luxury gatekeeper, Emily might just out-Miranda Miranda. And frankly, Emily Blunt has the presence to carry this sequel on pointed Louboutins.
Andy as a Disillusioned Journalist Turned Fashion Critic: Imagine her running a Substack taking down the very system she once chased. The final conflict? A Miranda exposé that risks burning it all down.
A Stanley Tucci Hand-Right Man, at least for now: Everyone wants a Nigel in their life, someone loyal and whose brain can travel the same wavelength as yours. But for how long? My hope is to see a fed up Nigel, after years of devoting his creativity and life to Runway magazine, finally crack… maybe going through a midlife crisis.
A Gen Z assistant is introduced, one who thinks Balenciaga started in 2019 and tries to "cancel" Miranda. This is just a hunch, but something tells me that the film will definitely add a storyline where Miranda is getting “canceled.”
Photo: NZ Herald
Final Stitch: Will It Be Iconic? Or Just Ironic?
The Devil Wears Prada wasn’t just a film about fashion. It was about power wrapped in couture. About how women weaponize (and suffer for) aesthetic perfection. Unless the sequel has something equally sharp to say—about beauty standards, digital identity, or intergenerational power struggles—it risks being a high-budget Pinterest board.
And if they really want to surprise us? Cast actual designers. Let a real fashion house helm the wardrobe. We’re not here for Zara with a lighting budget.
Miranda once said, “That’s all.” But if this sequel wants to be anything, it better say more. Give us fashion. Give us fear. Give us film. Or else? We’ll just rewatch the original and call it a day. And in Miranda’s own words: By all means, move at a glacial pace. You know how that thrills me—but only if it’s while wearing something worth freezing over.
XOXO, The Fashion Stock Market
Editor: Felicity Field
