“It’s like seeing the goddesses return to Mount Olympus.” With this metaphor, a Mexican Twitter user remarked on photographs of Anne Hathaway, Meryl Streep and Emily Blunt taken during the filming of The Devil Wears Prada 2 in New York. The three actresses reprise the roles of Andy Sachs, Miranda Priestly and Emily Charlton, respectively. Social media has been flooded with hundreds of messages yearning for the release of the sequel to a movie that became a phenomenon exactly two decades ago. Almost a year before its release, scheduled for May 2026, the most nostalgic fans are rekindling memories of the story that explored the ups and downs of the fashion industry. They are doing so by posting viral videos in which they comment on the looks seen on the streets of Manhattan, possible plots, or how the film’s protagonists have physically changed.
The images are not official, but that hasn’t stopped them from circulating like wildfire and reaching every corner of the world. Recorded by passersby and curious onlookers, the sequences filmed in the middle of Manhattan show Hathaway and Streep walking between taxis and storefronts, as if time had not passed. With just seconds of footage or blurry photos, the videos have surpassed hundreds of thousands of views on TikTok and X. “Am I dreaming?” reads the text that accompanies one of the viral videos in which Nigel, Miranda’s much-loved assistant, played by Stanley Tucci, sneaks in. “Anne on the set of The Devil Wears Prada 2???? is simply: perfect,” adds another tweet with 10,000 views.
It’s not just nostalgia that drives this enthusiasm; it’s also the visual power of on-screen fashion. In the first installment, Patricia Field was tasked with designing a wardrobe that would define a generation, the same as she did for six seasons of Sex and the City. This time, the spotlight is on whether that now-iconic style will be maintained. Although the wardrobe team has yet to be confirmed, some media outlets, such as Elle, have ventured to name the designers behind each leaked look. The most talked-about is that of Field’s close collaborator, Molly Rogers. She was the stylist in charge of And Just Like That… — the Sex and the City sequel that has just announced its end after three seasons. Field couldn’t join because she had a contract with Emily in Paris, so she recommended her friend instead.
TikTokers have taken over as glamour detectives, pausing frames from these home videos to identify jewelry, handbags or glasses and compare them to the accessories in the first film.
But the recordings released on social platforms and in the media analyzing these new styles are also revealing secrets of the new film directed by David Franke. Internet users are already talking about new additions to the cast, among them, actors Darren Criss and Chris Colfer, known for their participation in the series Glee, and captured on the set. It has also been revealed that actress Simone Ashley, who rose to fame after starring in the second season of Bridgerton, is joining the cast. And Oscar-winning Cillian Murphy, popular for his role as Tommy Shelby in Peaky Blinders, has been seen on set as well.
Not everything is unbridled excitement. Some audiences, including some film buffs and industry professionals, have expressed their discontent with the avalanche of leaks. For them, the constant exposure of images from the shoot ruins the experience of discovery that should occur in the movie theater. “If they keep releasing information, it’s going to take out all the fun,” complains one user on X.
The return of The Devil Wears Prada joins a long list of reboots, sequels and revivals: from Sex and the City to Clueless. But not all of these 1990s and 2000s classics generate the same enthusiasm. Why this one? Perhaps because the original film knew how to capture something timeless: the desire to pursue your dreams, the price of success and the vertigo of living at the pace of a ruthless industry. “I’m 28 years old and have a stable job. What everyone expects from me is to get married and have children, when all I expect is The Devil Wears Prada 2,” says another fan on X.
With no trailer, no official poster, and a year to go, the film has already begun. Not in theaters, but on the smaller screens we all carry in our pockets.
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