Anne Hathaway! Emily Blunt! Meryl Streep! The internet is abuzz with every single paparazzi shot from production on The Devil Wears Prada 2.
The fashions have already caused fights (I will die on this hill, Andy’s patchwork muumuu deserves the bin), the cast list continues to grow (17, per my last count), and Emily’s hair is even redder than before.
To set the scene, I am a massive fan of the original The Devil Wears Prada from 2006. I watch it once a year, and I’m literally a journalist living in New York City who occasionally writes about fashion. The pipeline is right there, I am Andy Sachs with less cerulean.
However, there’s one aspect of the sequel that keeps me awake at night and, despite all the anticipation, leaves me continually wary.
One word: Disney.
For context, an interest in a continuation of the film’s central story has been one fans have asked for ever since it was released and became an instant classic. But each of the stars expressed a resistance to the idea, claiming that it was a work of its time that wouldn’t necessarily fit in the current era of journalism and fashion.
© Getty Images“I just think that movie was in a different era,” Anne said on The View back in 2022. “Now everything’s gone so digital and that movie is centered around the concept of producing a physical thing and it’s just very different.”
Things changed in 2024 when it was revealed that a sequel was officially in development at Disney. The Devil Wears Prada 2 will be distributed by 20th Century Studios, which also distributed the original, with the change being that it was since bought out by Walt Disney Studios.
Now here’s the thing…I don’t trust Disney to go near the idea of a “franchise” with a 16-foot anti-bacterial pole. When we discuss the idea of an overload of sequels, revivals, remakes, adaptations, the first thing that comes to mind is the declining quality that can be attributed to Disney productions.
© Getty ImagesIn 2025 alone, the live action versions of Snow White and Lilo & Stitch received generally mixed to negative reviews, with the common consensus among the fandom being “Who asked for this?” That has been the case for a vast majority of their franchise revivals.
The Devil Wears Prada, in my opinion, is already a perfect film, with a perfect ending. It did not need to come back, and it worries me even more that it’s coming back at the hands of a conglomerate that has time and time again chosen to ignore what their audiences have to say about the quality of their productions.
The choice to ultimately revive it with the plot of its less successful sequel novel, Revenge Wears Prada: The Devil Returns, makes it even more baffling, an original is an original to begin with. It’s not terribly far off to suggest that the ultimate goal for the film is to simply rely on nostalgia and its blinding star power, and make big bank off of it.
Disney also has a troubled history of allowing executive opinion and internal conflict to taint the production and ultimate reception of their non-original properties, look no further than the entire PR campaign for Snow White, which ultimately couldn’t even make back its budget.
This is a company that has built up nearly a century of goodwill and fondness among its audience, myself included, while also showing a resistance to listen to their most active request — more original content. Disney fans take pride in the studio’s innovation, but it’s hard for me to be optimistic when I look at its recent track record.
Since 20th Century Studios came into existence in 2020, only two films among its 50 releases that are associated with larger franchises have earned notable critical attention and acclaim — 2021’s West Side Story, and 2024’s Deadpool & Wolverine. While The Fantastic Four: First Steps, currently in theaters, has earned highly positive reviews, I myself found it to be generally inconsequential and not at all innovative.
© Getty ImagesI trust this film’s stellar cast, including its returning foursome, to sign on to a project worth their while. I trust returning director David Frankel and writer Aline Brosh McKenna to create a product they’re proud of, because I also trust their faith in the magic of the original. What I’m scared of is the powers at be above them.
Will I be in theaters on May 1, 2026? No… because I will be seated for the Thursday preview shows on April 30 with my AMC A-List, that’s how dedicated I am to this film. But I will still be keeping one eye open for some tomfoolery, stunts and shenanigans, you best believe.
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