The Devil Wears Prada 2 is officially happening, and recently said how Anne Hathaway's inclusive casting celebrates diversity by showing that all body types and appearances are valuable and beautiful. With its world premiere having just taken place in New York yesterday, and a theatrical release set for May 1, the sequel promises a modernized runway, one that looks very different from the original 2006 film. Returning stars, fresh faces, a corporate power struggle, and conversations happening behind the scenes are shaping this into something far more than a nostalgia trip.

Even before the cameras rolled, one cast member was already rewriting the rules, and it started with a single, quietly powerful question.

Anne Hathaway did not just return to The Devil Wears Prada 2 as Andy Sachs; she returned as someone unafraid to challenge the status quo on set. The actress noticed that the models cast for a key scene skewed toward traditionally industry-standard sizing, and she was not willing to let that slide.

"I thought the scene would be so much more enjoyable for the audience if we had a wider range of bodies on display. All different shapes are beautiful," she said, speaking to Variety.

She then revealed she took the conversation straight to the producers, asking, "Don't you think the scene would be stronger if we had a more inclusive approach to size, and they looked up, and they were so sad that they hadn't thought about it," describing how they immediately made it happen within the hour.

That spirit of inclusion extends well beyond one scene. The sequel's cast itself reflects a noticeably broader world, with Simone Ashley playing Miranda's first assistant Amari, Lucy Liu as industry powerhouse Sasha Barnes, and Caleb Hearon and Conrad Ricamora bringing visible LGBTQ+ representation to the Runway office. Alongside returning legends Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, and Stanley Tucci, this ensemble signals that the film is actively course-correcting what the original got wrong. The movie hits theaters May 1, 2026.

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While the cast signals a bold new direction, the story itself is where The Devil Wears Prada 2 truly raises the stakes.

Set roughly 20 years after the original, the sequel trades the newbie in the big city charm for a high-stakes corporate survival story. Print media is dying, Runway is struggling, and Miranda Priestly, now 76, must go head-to-head with her former assistant Emily Charlton, who now controls luxury advertising budgets as a high-powered executive. Andy returns as a Features Editor, caught between Miranda's old-school demands and a radically transformed digital landscape she once dismissively ignored.

One teaser has already added fuel to the fire, with the internet split on whether the sequel is a necessary evil. Critics point to moments like Miranda seemingly forgetting who Andy Sachs is as signs of weak writing, while others are already treating Priestly's sharp one-liners as gospel. The debate rages on, but the fact that everyone is talking proves Priestly's grip on pop culture is as unshakeable as ever, a grip that, thanks to Anne Hathaway, now makes room for everybody in the frame.

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What are your thoughts on Anne Hathaway advocating for inclusive casting in The Devil Wears Prada 2? Let us know in the comments.