Justin Theroux is stepping into a bold character for The Devil Wears Prada 2, marking his return to the big screen with a new role in the anticipated sequel. The acclaimed actor discussed his part, described as “forward-leaning, rich and stupid,” hinting at a comedic dynamic for the Justin Theroux Devil Wears Prada 2 storyline, as he reunites with Emily Blunt, Anne Hathaway, and Meryl Streep on set.
Theroux’s insight came just after the release of the film’s teaser trailer, further igniting interest among longstanding fans of the original 2006 hit. In addition to Theroux, fresh talent like Lucy Liu, Kenneth Branagh, Simone Ashley, BJ Novak, Pauline Chalamet, Sydney Sweeney, and Lady Gaga have joined the sequel’s ensemble, promising an even broader blend of personalities and performances. The return of original cast members for this project—officially wrapped as of September—has generated both nostalgia and excitement.
Theroux Describes His Experience and High-Profile Reunion
The Leftovers alum expressed delight at working alongside Meryl Streep, noting the unique honor of performing with such a distinguished artist for the first time.
“I’ve obviously watched her my entire life,”
shared Justin Theroux, Mulholland Drive actor.
“So to all of a sudden, be performing with her is such a pleasure and an honor.”
– Justin Theroux, Mulholland Drive actor
For Emily Blunt, the experience represented more than just filming a sequel—it reunited her with colleagues who have shaped her career.
“We’ve known each other for so long,”
said Emily Blunt at the ELLE 2025 Women in Hollywood Celebration.
“I feel like Meryl birthed me into this industry. It was so cool to reunite with everybody.”
– Emily Blunt, Actor
The spectacle of The Devil Wears Prada 2’s filming last summer brought excitement from fans who witnessed the original group back at work. The attention was not lost on the cast, who became the center of enthusiastic public curiosity as scenes unfolded in public areas.
“We feel a little bit like zoo exhibits,”
Emily joked at the Toronto International Film Festival in September.
“But that’s OK. People are excited.”
– Emily Blunt, Actor
Anticipation now builds toward the movie’s scheduled release on May 1, 2026, as audiences await the new chapter for Miranda Priestley, Andy Sachs, and new ensemble additions. Meanwhile, stories from the making of the original film continue to surface, illustrating how its legacy was built and continues to evolve.
Early Origins: A Bestseller Before It Was a Film
The film adaptation for The Devil Wears Prada was underway even before Lauren Weisberger’s bestselling novel officially reached bookstores. The creative process began when the first 100 pages and a project outline convinced Fox 2000 leadership to greenlight the movie. This early commitment was driven by the allure of a roman-à-clef based on Weisberger’s real-life experiences working as Anna Wintour’s assistant at Vogue.
“I was the first person to read it at Fox 2000,”
recalled Carla Hacken, studio’s former executive vice president, to Variety in 2016.
“I thought Miranda Priestly was one of the greatest villains ever. I remember we aggressively went in and scooped it up.”
– Carla Hacken, Former EVP, Fox 2000
Aline Brosh McKenna was eventually chosen to script the film, reshaping it to focus on the professional and personal hardships faced by ambitious women rising in fashion publishing.
“I wrote a draft pretty quickly—it took me about a month,”
McKenna said.
“Then I rewrote it based on everybody’s notes.”
– Aline Brosh McKenna, Screenwriter
The Power and Influence of Anna Wintour
Anna Wintour’s powerful presence in the fashion world created unique hurdles during production. The creative team encountered widespread reluctance among industry professionals to share insights, fearing repercussions from Vogue’s editor-in-chief.
“I had enormous trouble finding anyone in the fashion world who’d talk to me, because people were afraid of Anna and Vogue, not wanting to be blackballed,”
McKenna told Entertainment Weekly.
“There was one person who spoke to me, whose name I will never divulge, who read it and said, ‘The people in this movie are too nice. No one in that world is too nice. They don’t have to be, and they don’t have time to be.’ After that, I did a pass to make everyone a bit busier and meaner.”
– Aline Brosh McKenna, Screenwriter
Location scouting faced similar obstacles due to Wintour’s reach. Certain iconic venues, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Bryant Park, both cornerstones of New York’s fashion calendar, refused access to the production.
“The Met Ball meant that the Metropolitan Museum wanted nothing to do with us,”
remembered director David Frankel.
“Even these iconic apartment buildings we saw as possibilities for Miranda’s apartment, the co-op boards wouldn’t let us in,”
said Frankel, further describing their need to borrow a townhouse from producer Wendy Finerman’s friend instead.
Capturing Authenticity: The Sets and Office Design
While most elements required either negotiation or creative solutions, the team managed a feat of cinematic realism with Miranda Priestly’s office. Production designer Jess Gonchor clandestinely visited the actual Vogue offices to inspire the film’s signature set.
“The only contact we had with Vogue was Jess Gonchor, the production designer, who snuck into their offices to get a look at Anna’s office,”
Frankel revealed to EW.
“He was able to re-create the office so authentically that I was told Anna redecorated hers immediately after the movie came out.”
– David Frankel, Director
The Wardrobe: Obstacles and Ingenuity in Fashion
Fashion was paramount for the film, but even major designers hesitated to participate—fearing Vogue’s disapproval.
“They just didn’t want to incur the wrath of Anna,”
said Frankel. Costumer Patricia Field addressed these barriers by gathering an impressive collection from labels like Donna Karan, Zac Posen, Rick Owens, and Prada, taking special care to differentiate Meryl Streep’s look as Miranda from Anna Wintour.
“She borrowed everything; we had to be very careful not to eat spaghetti at lunch,”
noted Meryl Streep.
“Because it’d go down the front and they couldn’t return it!”
– Meryl Streep, Actor
Anna Wintour’s Perspective on the Film
Despite her intimidating reputation, Anna Wintour was able to see the humor in The Devil Wears Prada. In an anniversary cover story, Meryl Streep recounted a lighthearted dialogue with Wintour regarding challenging roles. Wintour attended a special screening alongside Weisberger and later remarked on the movie’s relationship to her own work.
“It was not a true rendition of what happens within this magazine.”
– Anna Wintour, Editor-in-Chief, Vogue
Casting Choices: Meryl Streep Anchors the Film
Meryl Streep was always the studio’s preferred choice to portray Miranda Priestly. No other actresses were seriously considered, as Carla Hacken reflected to Variety.
“I don’t remember anything other than, ‘Please God—let it be Meryl,’”
Hacken said. When Streep’s agent called to confirm the actress’s interest, Hacken was overcome with excitement.
“I was shouting in my office.”
– Carla Hacken, Former EVP, Fox 2000
Streep herself appreciated the role’s complexity, unafraid to embrace the character’s intimidation and power.
“I liked that there wasn’t any backing away from the horrible parts of her, and the real scary parts of her had to do with the fact that she didn’t try to ingratiate, which is always the female emollient in any situation where you want your way—what my friend Carrie Fisher used to call ‘the squeezy and tilty’ of it all. [Miranda] didn’t do any of that.”
– Meryl Streep, Actor
Negotiating Pay and Creative Input
Initially, Streep was offered a lower salary than she expected for such a pivotal role. She advocated for fair compensation, a lesson she didn’t learn until her mid-fifties.
“The offer was, to my mind slightly, if not insulting, not perhaps reflective of my actual value to the project,”
she told Variety.
“There was my ‘goodbye moment,’ and then they doubled the offer. I was 55, and I had just learned, at a very late date, how to deal on my own behalf.”
– Meryl Streep, Actor
The Oscar winner also had strong opinions about Miranda’s depiction, insisting on including scenes showcasing both the business acumen and the emotional vulnerability of the character. The decision to give Miranda white hair was also Streep’s idea; at their meeting, the look made such an impact that there was no debate.
“Meryl channeled Miranda in that meeting, and there was no conversation about the hair; they looked into Meryl’s eyes and never said a word.”
– David Frankel, Director
Anne Hathaway’s Determination to Play Andy Sachs
Securing the role of Andy Sachs was an arduous process for Anne Hathaway. Speaking on RuPaul’s Drag Race, Hathaway revealed,
“I was the ninth choice for Devil Wears Prada.”
– Anne Hathaway, Actor
Though she did not have to audition formally, Hathaway vigorously campaigned for the part with creative gestures, such as writing “hire me” in Carla Hacken’s zen garden. When word came that she had landed the role, Hathaway was elated, recounting,
“I remember running out in my living room, half dressed, screaming—‘I got The Devil Wears Prada! I got The Devil Wears Prada!’”
– Anne Hathaway, Actor
Other Contenders for the Lead Role
Other well-known actresses, including Rachel McAdams and Kate Hudson, were also considered for Andy but ultimately declined.
“We offered it to Rachel McAdams three times,”
stated director David Frankel, who said that McAdams, coming off major roles in Mean Girls and The Notebook, consciously avoided another big-budget project.
“The studio was determined to have her, and she was determined not to do it.”
– David Frankel, Director
Kate Hudson similarly passed due to scheduling, later expressing regret about missing out.
“It was one of those things where I couldn’t do it, and I should’ve made it happen, and I didn’t. That was one where when I saw it I was like, ‘Ugh.’”
– Kate Hudson, Actor, Capital FM, February 2025
Meanwhile, Hathaway’s performance in Brokeback Mountain and endorsement by Meryl Streep proved decisive.
“Meryl watched that scene from the movie,”
Frankel recounted.
“She met with her and called up Tom Rothman at Fox and said, ‘Yeah, this girl’s great, and I think we’ll work well together.’”
– David Frankel, Director
Emily Blunt’s Unexpected Path to Stardom
The casting search for Miranda’s assistant, Emily, was exhaustive, involving over 100 auditions. Emily Blunt, originally on the lot for another film audition, made a strong impression despite showing up “flustered and in sweatpants.”
“But I was rushing for the airport, and I remember just being kind of flustered,”
Blunt explained on The Late Late Show.
“So I read it, but I was wearing sweatpants, and I did not look the part at all.”
– Emily Blunt, Actor
A few days later, while in London, Blunt received a call from Frankel requesting a follow-up audition with a more polished appearance.
“I was in some dive club in London,”
she told Variety.
“I called him back from the bathroom. He said, ‘Listen I would have cast you off the tape, but the studio wants to see you one more time. Can you do what you did but dress the part more?’”
– Emily Blunt, Actor
The Distinctive Voice and Improv Touches
Although the character Emily was initially written as American, Blunt’s British accent was so effective that the writers revised the dialogue to match her style.
“We went to a coffee shop, went through the script, and peppered it with Britishisms,”
remembered Aline Brosh McKenna, screenwriter. Blunt incorporated inspiration from real-life observations as well.
“I guess I steal from people I meet,”
she told The Howard Stern Show.
“Like, I saw a mother speaking to her child in a supermarket…She yelled at her kid and she kind of opened and closed her hand and she goes, ‘Yeah, I’m hearing this, and I want to hear this.’ I went and put it in the movie.”
– Emily Blunt, Actor
Stanley Tucci, brought in at the last minute to play art director Nigel, infused humor through improvisation.
“I love the scene when Miranda is first coming up to the office and everyone sort of panics,”
Tucci said to Buzzfeed.
“We all kept laughing so hard, and David kept throwing out lines for me to say and ‘Gird your loins’ was the one that made it in.”
– Stanley Tucci, Actor.
“That was one I made up, but every time we laughed.”
– Stanley Tucci, Actor
On-Set Bonds and Life Beyond the Screen
Tucci’s contributions extended beyond the film. He developed a close bond with Emily Blunt, eventually marrying her sister, Felicity Blunt. Tucci detailed,
“So I did the movie, and she started treatments, and then we had the premiere, and then she was alive for four more years after that,”
discussing his late wife, Kate Tucci.
“And, actually, Felicity—Emily’s sister, my wife—she and Kate talked at the premiere that night and I have a photo of them together, which is so odd.”
– Stanley Tucci, Actor
For Tracie Thoms, who played Andy’s friend Lily, booking the role was an unforgettable birthday present.
“At that point in my career, I had kind of slipped into this best friend space. So I was like, ‘Oh, Lily’s easy. That’s right in my wheelhouse,’”
she said.
“I was in Dartmouth doing a workshop of a new play by Alan Ball,”
she told E! News, recalling the moment she got the role.
“It was like, ‘Hey, so you booked Devil Wears Prada. Happy birthday!’”
– Tracie Thoms, Actor.
“It was a good birthday memory.”
– Tracie Thoms, Actor
On set, Thoms noticed Adrian Grenier, cast as Andy’s boyfriend Nate, cleverly promoting his band The Honey Brothers while interacting with fans.
“He was using that opportunity to promote his band members, because he was not the frontman of the band,”
Thoms observed.
“I thought that was really great how he dealt with everybody very specifically and appreciated their support, and tried to ricochet that support onto his colleagues.”
– Tracie Thoms, Actor
The cast’s camaraderie gave the project a dynamic, authentic New York feel.
“We were all like, ‘Oh my god, it’s like we’re doing Sex and the City.’ We weren’t, but it still had that very New York, very metropolitan, very trying to be grownup thing about it,”
said Thoms.
Props, Memories, and Missed Opportunities
Memorabilia from the production also left an impression on cast members. Thoms, for example, attempted to keep a coveted Marc Jacobs bag used in a memorable scene. She requested genuine surprise in her performance by not seeing the purse until cameras rolled.
“I asked the prop department to not show me the purse before we were rolling, because I wanted the reaction to be genuine,”
explained Thoms.
“That, like, gasping and grabbing and ‘Gimme, gimme!’, that happened because that purse was gorgeous.”
– Tracie Thoms, Actor. Thoms even had a lighthearted scheme to take the bag home, but the scene that would have enabled it was cut.
“I had a whole plot in my brain on how to keep the purse,”
she joked to E! News.
“And then the scene where I was going to somehow forget to leave the purse in my trailer, that scene got cut. So I never went back to work to get the purse. It was very sad.”
– Tracie Thoms, Actor
Paris, Production Realities, and Method Acting
Capturing Paris’s glamour was initially not part of the filming plan for cost-cutting reasons, which shocked director Frankel. With the studio’s budget later expanded, Hathaway and Simon Baker traveled to France, while Streep’s scenes were shot exclusively in New York to avoid extra expenses. The division of production locations illustrated how even major stars can be subject to practical constraints.
Meryl Streep embraced a method approach for the Miranda role, keeping a professional distance from the rest of the cast to fully inhabit her character. This, however, carried a personal cost.
“I could hear them all rocking and laughing. I was so depressed! I said, ‘Well, it’s the price you pay for being boss!’ That’s the last time I ever attempted a Method thing!”
– Meryl Streep, Actor
Still, she took a moment to encourage Anne Hathaway before cameras rolled.
“‘I want you to know I think you’re going to be great, and I’m so happy to work with you…and that’s the last nice thing I’m going to say to you.’”
– Anne Hathaway, Actor, recalling Streep’s words
Looking Ahead: The Legacy Continues
With the sequel set for release, The Devil Wears Prada universe expands with the arrival of Justin Theroux, Lucy Liu, and other newcomers joining Anne Hathaway, Meryl Streep, and Emily Blunt. The new film will carry forward stories interwoven with real-life challenges, deep bonds, and industry drama, ensuring that the Justin Theroux Devil Wears Prada 2 experience remains unmissable. As fans eagerly anticipate May 1, 2026, reflections on the franchise’s rich history and dynamic cast continue to strengthen its cultural impact.
