Twenty years. That’s how long it took for this sequel to exist. Meryl Streep barely wanted to do it. Anne Hathaway took convincing. And now the trailer is the most-viewed comedy trailer in 15 years. Groundbreaking.
Last night , April 20, 2026, The Devil Wears Prada 2 had its world premiere at Lincoln Center in New York City, and it was live-streamed on Disney+ and Hulu because the people demand access to this event and also because it’s 2026 and everything is a content moment. The cast arrived. The looks were served. The early reactions dropped. And the entire internet is currently in the middle of the most fashion-adjacent group therapy session it has had since the original film dropped in 2006.
The film opens in cinemas May 1, 2026 via 20th Century Studios. But the premiere already told us everything. So let’s get into it.
Where We Are Now
The story picks up twenty years after the original film. Andy Sachs, played by Anne Hathaway, is no longer an assistant. She is now Features Editor at Runway.
Meryl Streep returns as Miranda Priestly, still running Runway. But the magazine is struggling. Print is dying. Digital is taking over. And for once, Miranda is not fully in control.
The biggest shift comes from Emily Charlton, played by Emily Blunt. She is now a luxury executive at Dior and holds the funding Runway needs. That means the power balance has flipped. Miranda may actually need Emily. That alone is enough to break the internet.
The Cast and the Chaos
The sequel also brings in Kenneth Branagh as Miranda’s husband, Simone Ashley as a Gen Z assistant, plus Lucy Liu, B.J. Novak, Justin Theroux, and a surprise third-act appearance from Lady Gaga.
Early reactions say Gaga “steals the entire film.” Her track “Runway,” featuring Doechii, is already being called a playlist lock.
“Took you long enough. — Miranda Priestly, DWP2 trailer”
Early Reactions Are Loud and Positive
Reviews are not official yet, but reactions from the premiere are already everywhere.
One viewer called it “fun, fierce, and exactly what fans wanted.” Another said the script brings back the sharp humor while updating the story for today’s workplace reality.
The biggest praise is for the cast chemistry. Hathaway, Streep, and Blunt are being described as slipping back into their roles like nothing changed.
There is also real weight in the story this time. Runway is dealing with the collapse of print media, which gives the sequel stakes beyond fashion drama.
The Lines That Made It Into Cultural History (2006 Edition)
Before we talk about what the new film delivers, let’s pay our respects to the quotes that have been living in our heads rent-free for twenty years. These are the ones Fiona’s Lair considers officially immortal:
Miranda Priestly: “By all means move at a glacial pace. You know how that thrills me.”
Miranda Priestly: “”This stuff”? Oh. Okay. I see. You think this has nothing to do with you. You go to your closet and you select, I don’t know, that lumpy blue sweater, for instance, because you’re trying to tell the world that you take yourself too seriously to care about what you put on your back. But what you don’t know is that that sweater is not just blue, it’s not turquoise, it’s not lapis, it’s actually cerulean.”
Miranda Priestly: “Oh, don’t be ridiculous, Andrea. Everybody wants this. Everybody wants to be us.”
Emily: “I’m sorry, do you have some prior commitment? Some hideous skirt convention you have to go to?“
Miranda Priestly: “Is there some reason my coffee isn’t here? Has she died or something?”
Nigel: “Let me know when your entire life goes up in smoke. It means it’s time for a promotion.”
Emily: “I’m just one stomach flu away from my goal weight.”
Miranda Priestly: “Florals? For spring? Groundbreaking.”
Miranda Priestly: “You have no idea how many times I had to make these girls do everything… details of your incompetence do not interest me.”
These lines are not just quotes. They are entire worldviews compressed into single sentences. The reason the original film has outlasted every trend it satirised is because it’s not really about fashion, it’s about ambition, compromise, and the terrifying moment you realise you have become something you swore you never would. Miranda Priestly is not a villain. She’s a mirror.
What the New Film Has to Earn
The pressure on DWP2 is enormous. The first film has a 79% on Rotten Tomatoes and a cultural footprint that’s impossible to overstate. Its teaser trailer alone, described as “the most-viewed comedy trailer in 15 years with 181.5 million views in its first 24 hours”, suggests the audience is there. The question is whether Aline Brosh McKenna’s script can deliver lines that will be quoted in 2046 the way the first film’s lines are quoted today.
Early signs: the “Took you long enough” line from the trailer already has a life of its own. The internet response to Emily Blunt potentially having power over Miranda Priestly is extremely online and extremely enthusiastic. And Lady Gaga being the ace up the sleeve of a comedy sequel is a move so correct it feels like it was always planned.
Cast, Crew & Where to Watch
- Director: David Frankel (returning from the original)
- Writer: Aline Brosh McKenna (returning from the original)
- Cast: Meryl Streep · Anne Hathaway · Emily Blunt · Stanley Tucci · Kenneth Branagh · Simone Ashley · Lucy Liu · Justin Theroux · B.J. Novak · Pauline Chalamet · Lady Gaga (cameo) · Donatella Versace (cameo) · Tracie Thoms · Tibor Feldman
- US Release: May 1, 2026 — exclusively in cinemas
- Filmed: June–October 2025, New York City + Milan (including at the actual Dolce & Gabbana Milan Fashion Week show)
- Distributed by: 20th Century Studios / Disney
- Streaming: Disney+ and Hulu (premiere live-streamed; theatrical window expected ~45 days before streaming release)
