The Devil Wears Prada 2 opened in South African cinemas on 30 April 2026, bringing Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci back to a franchise that has held its audience for two decades. The film is listed on Nu Metro and Webtickets, with a special advance screening having taken place in Johannesburg on 28 April.
The original film, released in 2006 and based on Lauren Weisberger’s 2003 novel, made Miranda Priestly one of cinema’s most imitated characters and turned the Runway magazine world it depicted into a cultural shorthand for a specific kind of ambition.
The sequel reunites all four of its leads alongside an expanded cast that includes Kenneth Branagh, Simone Ashley, Justin Theroux, Lucy Liu, Pauline Chalamet and B.J. Novak.
David Frankel returns as director, with Aline Brosh McKenna, who wrote the first film, back on screenplay duties.
Who is in it and what the early reaction looks like
The 20-year gap between the two films makes the reunion of the core cast the central story of the sequel’s marketing, and early reaction from press screenings in New York suggests the ensemble delivers.
Anne Hathaway revealed at Monday’s screening that a key scene bringing all four original leads together was added at Emily Blunt’s suggestion, after Blunt raised concerns during production that the four were not sharing enough screen time.
“It’s one of my favourite scenes in the entire movie,” Hathaway said.
The return of Meryl Streep as Miranda Priestly was never assumed. Streep’s willingness to revisit the character after two decades was the central question surrounding the sequel from the moment it was announced.
Her involvement, alongside the return of the three co-leads, removes the most obvious risk of ensemble sequels, in which returning cast members are typically divided across separate storylines rather than genuinely sharing the frame.
Broader critical reviews are expected in the days ahead.
What the film is and where to book
The Devil Wears Prada 2 is distributed in South Africa through 20th Century Studios and is rated 13.
Tickets are available through Nu Metro and Webtickets at participating cinemas nationwide.
Swisher Post previously covered the film’s world premiere in New York, where the full cast returned ahead of the global release.
The original film has remained on streaming rotation for most of its run since 2006 and has found new audiences in the years since.
Whether the sequel can extend that cultural shelf life is the question that will be answered over the coming weeks at the box office.
