Behind the scenes of ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’: Anne Hathaway’s push for body diversity, Sydney Sweeney’s cut scene and more

Gird your loins! The Devil Wears Prada 2 is almost here — which means we’ll soon be reuniting with our favorite former assistant and her former fashion editor boss.

Led by Anne Hathaway and Meryl Streep, the stars of The Devil Wears Prada 2 have been making a series of red carpet appearances near and far — and the film’s couture-clad cast and crew have been dishing on all things Runway magazine and reuniting nearly two decades later. It was a catwalk paved with uncertainty, and yet, they prevailed.

“It’s surreal to be here tonight because for 18 years we never imagined a sequel would be possible, but I’m glad that we waited,” said David Frankel, the film’s director, during the New York premiere on Monday. “This reunion with our movie family, both in front of and behind the camera, has been nothing short of joyful.”

Ahead of the film’s big-screen premiere on May 1, Yahoo rounded up everything there is to know behind the scenes of The Devil Wears Prada 2 — from how Hathaway advocated for body inclusivity to Streep’s unique way of getting into character to Sydney Sweeney reportedly being axed from the film.

Miranda Priestly forgetting Andy Sachs actually makes a lot of sense

When the Devil Wears Prada 2 trailer dropped in February, fans of the original film were quick to notice that Streep’s character, Miranda Priestly, the cutthroat editor in chief of Runway magazine, couldn’t remember who Andy Sachs, her former personal assistant, was.

In the original film, Andy, a recent Northwestern journalism grad, landed the job that “a million girls would kill for,” despite knowing nothing about the fashion industry. She actually ended up making a (surprisingly good) impression, but chose to walk away from the glitz and glamour of it all after recognizing that the fashion world was no longer something she wanted to be part of.

That Miranda has difficulty placing Andy isn’t an egregious choice. Frankel told the Hollywood Reporter that it actually makes sense. Why would Andy be at the top of her mind nearly 20 years after they worked together?

Calling Miranda’s inability to remember Andy “a little bit of a ploy on her part,” Frankel added, “It’s that thing you have when you have your first boss — they mean everything to you, you never forget them and the boss has had a million assistants. You came and you were there for a year, who remembers that?”

Aline Brosh McKenna, the film’s screenwriter, echoed Frankel’s sentiments, also telling the outlet, “It’s been 20 years, how many assistants do we think she’s had? She has two [at a time] so probably 50, I would guess. She definitely doesn’t remember [Andy] on sight, which I think is understandable.”

Anne Hathaway advocated for diverse body types

After noticing that the models in a specific scene for The Devil Wears Prada 2 were “more traditionally model-size,” Hathaway felt compelled to say something.

The Oscar-winning actor recently told Variety that she felt that a particular scene would work better if it showcased models with diverse body types rather than reinforce the status quo. So, she decided to take her concerns to the film’s producers.

“I knew what the context of the scene was and I thought the scene would be so much more enjoyable for the audience if we had just a wider range of bodies on display because all different shapes are beautiful,” Hathaway told Variety.

Hathaway said the producers were “so sad that they hadn’t thought about it” beforehand and were instrumental in making the casting changes: “As soon as they saw it, they were the ones who just made it happen in like an hour.”

Sydney Sweeney was supposed to have a cameo

Looks like we aren’t getting that Sydney Sweeney and The Devil Wears Prada 2 crossover. The Euphoria actor was supposed to make a cameo in the upcoming film, according to a report from Entertainment Weekly, but her scene did not make the final cut. Sweeney’s scene, which was supposed to be featured near the beginning of the film, was reportedly nixed as a “creative decision.”

“[Entertainment Weekly] has learned that the scene did not work structurally with the rest of the sequence, and that the team working on the movie was grateful for her participation, making the decision to remove the bit a difficult one,” per the outlet.

Fans speculated about Sweeney’s involvement in the film after she was photographed on the film’s New York City set last August.

Meryl Streep gave up socializing on set

For Streep, the craft comes first. Hathaway recently told E! News that although Streep was a social butterfly while filming the original movie, she opted for a different approach for The Devil Wears Prada 2. According to Hathaway, Streep felt that the cast “would just be a little sharper, stand a little taller” if they weren’t “so comfortable around her.” She wanted them to be a bit on edge around her — just as they would be with Miranda Priestly.

“On the first one, Meryl made a huge sacrifice because she loves the hang,” Hathaway said at the film’s New York premiere. “Meryl loves being by the camera truck. She loves just the conversations that happen, the laughs.”

Hathaway added, “So, she gave all of that socializing time that she loved so much. That way we would just feel that much more in our own characters.”

What Anne Hathaway loves about Andy Sachs

We might be 20 years removed from the original film, but Hathaway still thinks fondly of her onscreen character. While chatting with the Hollywood Reporter at the sequel’s New York premiere on Monday, the Mother Mary star was quick to applaud Andy Sachs — and the life she’s built for herself since leaving Runway.

“I really love seeing how she treats people. Andy is coming into her power in her life and you’ll see in this movie,” she said. “She has someone that works for her. I just love her approach. I feel like she’s gentle and kind and it’s a lovely anecdote to maybe the way that she was treated.”

The fashion speaks to each character’s evolution

At the beginning of the first film, Andy Sachs is accused of attending the “hideous skirt convention” and blindly wearing a “lumpy blue sweater.” By the end of it, however, she’s blossomed into a sophisticated, well-dressed journalist with the rest of her career ahead of her. Costume designer Molly Rogers said it was paramount to reflect Andy’s continued evolution over the last 20 years in her wardrobe for The Devil Wears Prada 2.

“Miss Hathaway’s character was once again more layered than anyone,” Rogers told Deadline. “The first movie, she was a fish out of water. This movie, she’s kind of been around the world. … She needed a lot of different signals in her costume that she wasn’t married to fashion but knew about it, but was a serious reporter. All those things. It took us some time to discover it.”

Rogers also shared her thought process behind other characters in the film.

“Stanley Tucci’s character is the person who has stayed the most constant, so I think you can really see nice parallels from 20 years ago to today,” she said. “Miranda changed in that she has amassed a great deal of power and influence since we last saw her. I think her assuredness in her clean silhouettes … she doesn’t really need a lot of adornment.”

Rogers added of Emily Blunt’s character, “We had to show where she worked. That was a big part of her closet.”