'The Devil Wears Prada 2' cast then vs now: How Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway and more have evolved 20 years after the original

Twenty years is a long time in Hollywood, but the cast of 'The Devil Wears Prada' seems to have missed that memo entirely. With the sequel bringing back the original four alongside a whole new lineup of characters, here is a look at how the iconic cast has changed—or rather barely changed at all—in the two decades since Miranda Priestly first terrorised the offices of Runway magazine.

Miranda Priestly is one of cinema's great iconic characters and Meryl Streep is the only reason she works as completely as she does, bringing a cold, imperious authority to every whispered demand and withering glance that made the role instantly legendary. In the sequel, Miranda is closer to retirement and locked in a power struggle with her former assistant turned rival executive, a conflict that sounds like it was written specifically to let Streep do what she does best. Twenty years on, she remains one of the most commanding screen presences in the history of the medium.

Anne Hathaway brought an earnestness and warmth to Andy Sachs that kept the original film grounded even as the world around her grew increasingly glamorous and absurd. The sequel reunites her with Miranda as the two face off against a common adversary. Now a mother of two sons with husband Adam Shulman, Hathaway has only grown more assured and luminous in the years since the original. She remains one of those rare actors who makes everything she is in feel slightly more alive.

Emily Charlton was the original film's great comedic gift, a woman so committed to the hierarchy of fashion that she treated basic human kindness as an inconvenience. Emily Blunt played her with a pitch-perfect withering precision that stole every scene she was in. The sequel brings her back as a rival executive competing with Miranda for advertising revenue in a declining print media landscape, which sounds like exactly the kind of high-stakes absurdity that suits the character perfectly. Now in her forties and married to John Krasinski, Blunt has only added to a career that already had very little left to prove.

Stanley Tucci's Nigel was the original film's warm, sardonic heart—the one person in Miranda's orbit who seemed to genuinely see Andy and care about what happened to her. His return to the sequel promises more of the dry, affectionate energy that made the character so beloved. Married to Emily Blunt's sister Felicity in real life, Tucci has spent the past two decades cementing his status as one of the most versatile and consistently watchable character actors working today. Now in his sixties, he is the rare Hollywood figure who seems to genuinely improve with every passing year.

The sequel introduces a formidable new lineup that includes Kenneth Branagh, Simone Ashley, Justin Theroux, Lucy Liu, Pauline Chalamet, and B.J. Novak among others, with returning director David Frankel overseeing the expansion of the Runway universe. The additions suggest a sequel with genuine ambition, one that wants to build on the original rather than simply revisit it. With a cast this strong surrounding the returning four, the anticipation feels entirely justified.

'The Devil Wears Prada 2' marks the return of four central characters played by Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt, and Stanley Tucci. Even after two decades none of them look remotely like they should have aged at all. The sequel also introduces a wave of new characters that help take the story forward into a media landscape that looks very different from the one Miranda Priestly once ruled without question. It is the rare reunion that feels not just welcome but genuinely necessary.

The sequel picks up with Miranda Priestly closer to retirement and locked in a fierce power struggle with Emily Charlton, her former assistant turned rival executive, as the two compete for advertising revenue amid the slow collapse of print media. Miranda reunites with Andy Sachs to face off against Emily, bringing the original film's central triangle back together under entirely new and considerably higher stakes. Directed once again by David Frankel, the film promises to take everything that made the original so compelling and push it further.