Anne: Call me Scully because I want to believe. But first: I need to know more.<\/p>\n
To start, is it a good movie as a movie on its own or is it a good movie for a sequel? Does it play too much to the nostalgia of it all? Does Nate suffer a humiliation ritual onscreen for an extended period of time? Sequels fundamentally frighten me — especially in an era where so many are terrible. I need to at least know that another steak is not harmed in a dramatic fashion.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Peter: First and foremost, Nate is thankfully not even mentioned in the movie. But do you know what is? Banff, Alberta (and I\u2019m not going to contextualize that any further). There are also absolutely no steaks on screen. And these, Anne, are the only three things I\u2019ll spoil for you: no Nate, no steak, Banff reference. The rest I\u2019ll leave for you to discover (and there are quite a few major things!).<\/p>\n
As for the good movie vs. good movie for a sequel question,\u00a0 I think the answer is significantly closer to the former than you or I ever could have imagined. Because, you\u2019re right, we are in an era of very bad sequels, particularly legacy sequels. Sometimes they are so bad that they even put a stain on the original film. I was so terrified this would be the case here that I rewatched the original Devil Wears Prada the night before just to have one last look at her before she was potentially compromised. But she wasn\u2019t! I genuinely teared up when it ended just because it felt so remarkable not to be let down by something like this in the year 2026.<\/p>\n
Devil Wears Prada 2 manages to somewhat gracefully walk that line between servicing the fans and standing on its own. Sure, the callbacks occasionally feel indulgent, and there\u2019s a new character that the movie would be way better served without. (Once you see it you\u2019ll know exactly who I\u2019m talking about). But overall, it\u2019s too fun, charming and occasionally even insightful to feel anything but delight watching it. Unless you haven\u2019t seen the original. I know those people must be out there, but not in my world. I can\u2019t imagine any of them are reading this column.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I know you\u2019ve seen it Anne, but I don\u2019t really know your relationship to it. What did the first Devil Wears Prada mean to you?<\/p>\n
![\"From](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1777504389_730_default.jpg\")
From left: Anne Hathaway, Meryl Streep and Stanley Tucci in The Devil Wears Prada 2. (Disney)<\/p>\n
Anne: I love the original. LOVE. I dragged my friends to see it back in 2006 \u2014 I think I even made us come home from the beach early because I had my priorities right \u2014 and was immediately obsessed. This was for two reasons: the first, because the movie is perfectly timed, cast, shot, and written \u2014 minus Nate and his burnt grilled cheese. The second is\u00a0 I\u2019ve always been a little publishing nerd.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This movie is a love letter to magazines. A very warped, twisted, upsetting love letter \u2014 because Runway seems like a terrible place to work and the publishing industry is dying around us \u2014 but a love letter nonetheless. I grew up reading magazines. I still read magazines. I love magazines! Which is probably why, at 21-years-old, I watched The Devil Wears Prada and thought writing for a magazine still seemed so cool.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Anyway, will this do for 21-year-olds now what the original did for me?<\/p>\n
Peter: OK, so I do have some bad news. But let me start with this instead. The sequel is absolutely a love letter\u2026 to the first movie. The script very smartly focuses on the original quartet of Andy (Anne Hathaway), Miranda (Meryl Streep), Emily (Emily Blunt) and Nigel (Stanley Tucci) and gives them all a lot to work with. The narrative is compelling, the performances are wonderful (Blunt is the undeniable MVP, in my opinion), and it looks and feels like an actual movie and not some Netflix slop.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As for what it has to say about magazines and the future of journalism and the media in general? It feels more like a funeral than a love letter. Sadly, I don\u2019t think any 21-year-old is going to walk out of it feeling good about the journalism degree they\u2019re working toward. Which given the state of things, you can\u2019t blame the movie for. If you happen to work in media (which obviously me and you both do, yay!), The Devil Wears Prada 2 might actually be a little triggering?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Anne: I\u2019m still of the romantic mindset that we\u2019ll all return to holding magazines and newspapers and being really stoked about it. (I\u2019m rooting for you, Chloe Malle!)<\/p>\n
But I want to pick up on something you said that I think is interesting: if the sequel is a love letter to the original movie, do you see it as a love letter to cinema? Because that ups the cultural ante since the state of film is nearing the same status as the state of journalism and media. Mainly: it\u2019s bleak-street out there, and this is why good movies make such an impact. We\u2019ve Held Space\u2122 before on physically going to the movies and why being in the actual theatre is important to keep the industry alive. Do you think The Devil Wears Prada 2 is appointment, in-theatre viewing? Did it make you feel nostalgic for going to the movies, hunkering down, and revelling in joy?<\/p>\n
I might be taking it too far! But also, between your review and the hype around Mile End Kicks, The Drama, and Project Hail Mary, I feel hope in my heart that we\u2019re heading into a summer where movies are, should I say, so back.<\/p>\n
![\"Emily](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1777504389_82_default.jpg\")
Emily Blunt in The Devil Wears Prada 2. (Disney)<\/p>\n
Peter: Nothing would make me happier than telling you\u00a0 that I think The Devil Wears Prada 2 is a love letter to cinema. But that is indeed taking it too far. Though for what it\u2019s worth, I definitely don\u2019t think the first one was that either. They\u2019re both just well-made, well-written, well-acted studio movies made for adults who enjoy a fun time at the cinema that doesn\u2019t insult their intelligence. We absolutely need more of these to do well, especially coming off of Michael, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie and the latest Scream all making bank despite being stank (sorry). I\u2019d caution saying the movies are back largely because of those three examples, but The Devil Wears Prada 2 (plus the films you listed, not to mention Blue Heron, Send Help, Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie, The Christophers and Mother Mary) at least suggest they\u2019re putting up a fight!<\/p>\n
Anne: I\u2019ll take it! And you know what I\u2019ll also be taking? An onion bagel, to go, for breakfast. Because two decades later and I\u2019m still traumatized by the fact that Runway served corn chowder in their cafeteria. I may trust your opinion regarding this sequel, but I do not trust the Runway publisher to serve a delicious version of comfort food.<\/p>\n
Peter: In that case, Anne, I am offering one more spoiler: the chowder is back! That\u2019s all. <\/p>\n
The Devil Wears Prada 2 is in cinemas across Canada this Friday, May 1st. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Holding Space is a joint column by Anne T. Donahue and Peter Knegt that “holds space” for something…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":637319,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[49,48,75],"class_list":["post-637318","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-entertainment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/637318","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=637318"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/637318\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/637319"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=637318"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=637318"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=637318"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}