Behind the devil wears prada's sequel: an exclusive with screenwriter aline brosh mckenna
In anticipation of The Devil Wears Prada 2's release on May 1, the Vogue Book Club is making its way through the original source material—and oh, what material it is!
Lauren weisberger's 2003 novel shares plenty of dna with the feature film it would eventually inspire, but the movie made some significant edits to the book's plot—chief among them, skipping the dramatic downward spiral of protagonist andy sachs's best friend, lily; and significantly complicating the character of miranda priestly, runway's frosty editor-in-chief.
this week, vogue spoke to the devil wears prada screenwriter aline brosh mckenna—who returned to pen the script for the sequel—about her experience of turning one of the hottest roman-à-clefs of the aughts into a box-office hit.
brooklyn-based writer-director mckenna, known for her work on the tv series jane the virgin, started her career in hollywood as a writer's assistant on shows like glee and Ugly Betty before breaking through with her 2006 film 27 dresses, starring katherine heigl. she's since become a go-to scribe for romantic comedies and dramas with a strong female lead.
when asked about her initial reaction to reading weisberger's novel, mckenna recalled: i saw the cover of the book before i read it, and i was like, i want that. i want to read that. she continued, i think the idea of being in the workplace for first time as a young woman, and all the personal and professional challenges you face, is something i’ve always been really interested in, for obvious reasons.
as for what drew her to the film adaptation, mckenna explained: i’d never met him, so i really met him completely cold and went in and pitched my ideas, and they just happened to really line up with his ideas. the two collaborators shared a vision for a film that would accurately depict the cutthroat world of fashion, eschewing campy humor in favor of a more realistic portrayal.
mckenna spoke at length about the challenges of adapting weisberger's novel for the screen, particularly in regards to andy's character arc. we spent a lot of time talking about what ended up being that final scene in the car. this pivotal moment sees andy reflecting on her experiences at runway magazine and grappling with the realization that her values don't align with the industry she's working in.
as for whether there were any characters she was particularly eager to revisit after nearly two decades, mckenna declared: i just was really excited to see them all again. the devil wears prada 2, however, is not a direct sequel to weisberger's follow-up novel, but rather a completely new story.
in this case, mckenna and her team had the freedom to reimagine the characters and setting in a way that felt authentic to the current cultural landscape. this conversation has been edited and condensed.