Why 'Devil Wears Prada' Sequel Rumors Compare The Film to 'The Last Jedi'

The Unsubstantiated Sequel

For nearly two decades, the question of a sequel to the 2006 hit ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ has lingered in Hollywood conversations and fan forums. Despite persistent hope, no sequel is officially in development at 20th Century Studios or its parent company, Disney. The principal cast, including Anne Hathaway, Meryl Streep, and Emily Blunt, have consistently, if politely, poured cold water on the idea in numerous interviews over the years, often suggesting the original film’s narrative arc for Andy Sachs reached a definitive and satisfying conclusion. Any reports of a 'The Devil Wears Prada 2' with a confirmed release date or plot are, at present, entirely unfounded speculation.

This lack of official movement has not stopped the internet from generating its own theories, a common phenomenon for beloved, standalone films. The conversation recently took a peculiar turn, with some online discourse attempting to connect a hypothetical sequel to ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’. This comparison isn't about shared plot points or genre, but about narrative philosophy. The argument suggests that for a ‘Prada’ sequel to justify its existence, it would need to radically subvert the expectations of its audience, much as director Rian Johnson’s 2017 ‘Star Wars’ entry did, to the division of that franchise's fanbase.

Revisiting the Original's Success

The enduring demand for a sequel is a testament to the original film's outsized cultural footprint. Directed by David Frankel and adapted from Lauren Weisberger’s novel, ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ was a commercial and critical success. On a reported budget of $41 million, the film earned over $326 million at the worldwide box office, according to Box Office Mojo. It defied categorization, blending workplace comedy with sharp-edged drama, and created an indelible cinematic villain, or antihero, in Meryl Streep’s Miranda Priestly, a performance that earned her an Academy Award nomination.

The film’s dialogue became instantly quotable, its fashion became iconic, and its central theme—the cost of ambition and the struggle for integrity—resonated deeply. It arrived at a perfect cultural moment, capturing the last days of print media’s unquestioned authority before the digital revolution fully took hold. This specific time-capsule quality is one of the primary arguments often made against a sequel. The world that Miranda Priestly ruled with an iron fist, one of physical magazines and exclusive runway shows, has been irrevocably altered by social media, influencers, and a decentralized media landscape. A sequel would have to confront this new reality, a challenge that some feel would dilute the original’s core premise.

The Sequel That Already Exists (In Print)

Complicating the discussion is the fact that a sequel story does exist, just not on screen. In 2013, author Lauren Weisberger published “Revenge Wears Prada: The Devil Returns.” The novel picks up nearly a decade after the first, with Andy Sachs co-founding a successful high-end bridal magazine, The Plunge, with her former Runway rival, Emily Charlton. Her life is upended when Miranda Priestly re-enters the picture, seemingly with an eye on acquiring Andy’s new company. A second follow-up novel, “When Life Gives You Lululemons,” was released in 2018, focusing on Emily’s new career as a celebrity image consultant.

Despite the existence of this source material, Hollywood never moved forward with an adaptation. “Revenge Wears Prada” received a largely negative reception from literary critics, who felt it failed to recapture the magic and wit of the original. The Guardian called it a “laboured, slow-moving and surprisingly dull book.” This tepid reaction likely dampened any studio enthusiasm for a film adaptation, as the built-in narrative was not seen as a guaranteed success. Instead of providing a clear path forward, the book sequel may have inadvertently served as a warning sign about the difficulty of revisiting these characters.

The 'Last Jedi' Conundrum

The speculative fan comparison to ‘The Last Jedi’ stems from this exact creative challenge. That film controversially repositioned Luke Skywalker as a disillusioned hermit and subverted long-held theories about its new characters' parentage. For a hypothetical ‘Prada 2,’ a similar subversion might involve Andy Sachs not being the journalistic success story everyone imagined, or perhaps finding herself unhappy with the life she chose. It could reveal Miranda Priestly as having lost her influence in the new media world, a diminished figure rather than an omnipresent force. This approach would be a narrative gamble.

Such a move could provide the dramatic weight needed for a sequel, but it would also risk alienating the audience that loved the original’s empowering ending. Fans want to see the characters they love again, but they don't necessarily want to see them deconstructed or their previous victories undone. This is the central tightrope of the legacy sequel, a subgenre that has produced successes like ‘Top Gun: Maverick,’ which honored its past, and divisive entries from other franchises that challenged it. The reluctance of Hathaway, Streep, and Blunt to return could stem from an awareness of this very risk: the high probability of failing to meet enormous expectations and the low probability of creating something that stands on its own, outside the original’s long shadow.