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For Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway, 'The Devil Wears Prada 2' is 'fun' echo of 'changing' times

Published: 08 Apr. 2026, 17:56 Updated: 08 Apr. 2026, 18:51

KIM JU-YEON
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Meryl Streep, left, and Anne Hathaway, holding red heels designed after ggotsin (traditional Korean flower shoes), pose for photos at a press conference for ″The Devil Wears Prada 2″ at the Four Seasons Hotel in Jongno District, central Seoul, on April 8. [YONHAP]

Meryl Streep is all in for older, powerful women playing prominent roles in the workplace, fictional or otherwise.

“You don’t see any 70-year-old woman playing parts like this in any movie, under any circumstances. So I’m happy to represent,” she said in a press conference at the Four Seasons Hotel in central Seoul on Wednesday, when asked about the role models she and Anne Hathaway took on in "The Devil Wears Prada 2."

That includes herself — reprising her iconic portrayal of the ruthless Miranda Priestly, editor-in-chief of the fashion magazine Runway — as well as Anna Wintour, long considered the inspiration for the character, and Annie Leibovitz, who photographed a recent Vogue cover featuring the two women, she said. All three are 76.

“It’s often that women over 50 disappear into the woodwork. Their interests and opinions are less valued in culture. I see this person [Miranda], who has a credited place in the world and having that influence,” Streep said at the event. It marked her first official visit to Korea, where “The Devil Wears Prada 2,” once again directed by David Frankel, is set to hold its world premiere on April 29, two days ahead of its May 1 rollout in other markets.

Meryl Streep as Miranda Priestly in ″The Devil Wears Prada 2″ [WALT DISNEY COMPANY KOREA]

She denied, however, that she played Miranda in either film with the intention of making her a one-dimensional figure to admire.

“The film would have been different if we felt like we were playing role models,” she said.

“Our purpose was […] to try to play people honestly. Hopefully by reflecting that authenticity and that honesty, people see themselves in it.”

On the first movie's reception, she said, “This is the first film I ever was in, in 50 years or whatever, where men came and said, ‘I know how you felt.’ They said that about my character. And I think that’s because she was in a position of responsibility at the top of a corporation.”

A still from ″The Devil Wears Prada 2,″ set to premiere in Korea on April 29 [WALT DISNEY COMPANY KOREA]

“The Devil Wears Prada” (2006) ended with Hathaway’s Andy Sachs, the tortured junior assistant to Miranda, leaving Runway to pursue a career in serious journalism.

Andy is shown in the second film as a seasoned journalist, receiving an award for her investigative reporting — only to be promptly fired, along with her colleagues, by text message after her company is sold. The moment uncannily echoes recent real-world events, including layoffs at news outlets such as The Washington Post and The Associated Press, as well as Oracle’s massive layoff notice sent by email at 6 a.m. on a weekday.

Miranda, for her part, now runs a Runway with waning readership and influence, leaving the magazine more reliant than ever on advertising revenue — still powerful, but a shadow of the workplace “a million girls would kill for.”

Hathaway and Streep expressed sympathy with the storyline, noting that the forces driving the decline of traditional print media have also disrupted their own industry.

“The first film was made in 2006 […] the year before the iPhone. That thing in your pockets or in the bag you carry. It's changed everything in publishing. It's changed everything in our business,” Streep said.

“You'll see her [Miranda] navigate a confusing and exciting extension of the influence of the Runway fashion world.”

“You can't overestimate the effect the digital revolution has had on all aspects of the West, but in particular when it comes to journalism,” Hathaway said.

Stanley Tucci as Nigel Kipling and Anne Hathaway as Andy Sachs in ″The Devil Wears Prada 2″ [WALT DISNEY COMPANY KOREA]

For Andy, that means returning to work under Miranda as Runway's new features editor to help revive the magazine's reputation after an editorial blunder. From there, she reconnects with Emily Charlton (Emily Blunt), Miranda's assistant turned executive at Dior, and Runway's art director Nigel Kipling (Stanley Tucci) as she faces new industry challenges.

“We see these characters in difficult moments. We see them handle them gracefully, badly, kindly. One thing I'll say about Andy is I think she's really committed to being empowered with kindness,” Hathaway said.

“I think it's very cool to see somebody who's really effective at their job but also really gracious and authentic.”

Actors Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway answer questions during a press conference for the upcoming film “The Devil Wears Prada 2” at the Four Seasons Hotel in Jongno District, central Seoul, on April 8. [DANIELA GONZALEZ PEREZ]

The two cast members said viewers should come to watch the movie simply to be entertained, even as they acknowledged the first film’s particular influence on women and girls while fielding reporters’ questions about what “The Devil Wears Prada” films meant for female empowerment.

“I recognize that young women especially took some courage from Andy's story in the first film,” Streep said.

“But I am so loath to put out the idea of a message […] Come to it looking for fun, looking for the underpinnings of some very serious issues we are confronting today, but also to take from it what you want.”

The event ended with gifts for the two — red stilettos inspired by ggotsin, traditional Korean flower-patterned shoes.

“They're so delicate but also so fun,” Hathaway said.

BY KIM JU-YEON [[email protected]]