The return of Miranda Priestly was always going to be a big deal. But nobody — not even Meryl Streep herself — was ready for just how big.
The 76-year-old Oscar-winning actress has opened up about what it was really like to step back into the stilettos of fashion’s most feared editor for The Devil Wears Prada 2, and let’s just say things got a little wild on the streets of New York City.
Speaking to Harper’s Bazaar for its April 2026 “The Now” issue, Streep admitted that the level of attention surrounding the shoot completely caught her off guard. “Even though we were aware of the impact of the first film two decades ago, I think none of us were prepared for the ambush of both goodwill and avid attention that engulfed us,” she said. The production even needed police barriers and crowd control just to keep things moving.
And the chaos didn’t stop there. Streep recalled that buses full of fans showed up at filming locations, and paparazzi were so desperate for a shot that one photographer actually jumped in front of the camera mid-scene and got into a scuffle with the crew. Co-star Anne Hathaway, 43, managed to keep her composure through it all — but Streep? Not so much. “Annie kept her cool, but I was unnerved,” she admitted.
What makes this sequel extra special is how differently the fashion world treated the cast this time around. Back when the original film was made in 2006, Hathaway has shared that getting luxury brands on board was actually a challenge. Fast forward to 2026, and the tables have completely turned. Streep and her castmates — including Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci — were invited to attend real Milan Fashion Week shows. Streep even got face time with legendary former Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour at the Dolce & Gabbana Spring/Summer 2026 show in September — a full-circle moment, since Wintour famously inspired the character of Miranda Priestly.
There’s another big change Streep made this time around: she completely ditched Method acting. She had tried staying in character between takes while filming the original movie, and it left her feeling miserable and isolated. “It was horrible! I was depressed in my trailer. I could hear them all rocking and laughing,” she recalled to Entertainment Weekly back in 2021. She called it the last time she ever attempted the Method approach — and clearly, letting go of that pressure made all the difference.
This time, filming felt nothing short of electric. Streep told Vogue in February 2026 that the moment she stepped out onto Sixth Avenue — the same street where they quietly filmed scenes two decades ago with barely anyone noticing — she was hit with a massive roar from the crowd. People had dressed up as Miranda Priestly just to watch the shoot. “Honestly, it really threw me,” she said.
The Devil Wears Prada 2 is set to hit theaters on May 1, and if the fan energy on set is anything to go by, this one is going to be absolutely massive.
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