'Devil Wears Prada' sequel returns Streep and Hathaway to fashion world

'The Devil Wears Prada 2' opens this weekend, reuniting Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway nearly two decades after the original while adding Justin Theroux and B.J. Novak to a cast that includes returning star Emily Blunt, according to ABC7 Los Angeles.

The film arrives as social media has fundamentally reshaped the fashion and celebrity-influence landscape at the heart of the 2006 original — a cultural touchstone that has held its audience through two decades of streaming and countless rewatches among SoCal fans and beyond.

Director David Frankel, who made the 2006 original, returns for the sequel and used the promotional circuit to revisit an early casting dispute. "The studio really wanted almost anybody but Anne Hathaway," Frankel said, according to ABC7 Los Angeles. He stood by his instinct, adding: "Anne was the first actress I met, and she's the one I embraced from the start."

Hathaway described returning to the role as "a warm hug in stiletto shoes." The sequel centers on how social media has transformed the influence dynamics once driven by print fashion magazines — a shift that reframes the power structures that defined Miranda Priestly's world in the first film.

New cast member Justin Theroux offered a tease of his character without giving much away. "I'm my favorite thing to play, which is confident and stupid," Theroux said. B.J. Novak, also joining the cast, joked about how the news landed with people close to him. "Everyone said, 'That's amazing. Are you the villain?'" Novak said, per the ABC7 report.

Meryl Streep, reprising her role as imperious Runway editor Miranda Priestly, gave a wry preview of her character's digital-age behavior. "Miranda would have several of the assistants following people for her," Streep said. Emily Blunt — who played Miranda's sharp-tongued first assistant in the original and returns in the sequel — revealed that her husband, actor John Krasinski, may be the franchise's most devoted viewer. "He's seen it like 70 times," Blunt said.

'The Devil Wears Prada 2' is distributed by 20th Century Studios, a unit of The Walt Disney Company. The original film debuted about two decades ago and has remained a steady presence on streaming platforms since.