Behind-the-Scenes Secrets of The Devil Wears Prada 2's Shocking Twist
Ava White
Published May 17, 2026
By Published May 3, 2026, 12:33 PM EDT Matthew Rudoy is one of ScreenRant's Movie & TV News Editors. He covers the latest in movie & TV news, with a focus on major franchises like Star Wars, The Boys, and Game of Thrones, and also writes some features and reviews. He wrote lists for ScreenRant from 2017-2026, became a news writer in 2026, a senior staff writer in 2026, and an editor in 2026. Summary Generate a summary of this story follow Follow followed Followed Like Like Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recap
Warning: There are major spoilers ahead for The Devil Wears Prada 2. director David Frankel explains why a returning character had to die in the sequel.
The returning characters include Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway), Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep), Nigel Kipling (Stanley Tucci), Emily Charlton (Emily Blunt), Irv Ravitz (Tibor Feldman), and Andy's friend Lily (Tracie Thoms). Irv is the returning character who dies, which shockingly occurs during his 75th birthday party. As the head of the Elias-Clark parent company that owns Runway, along with a promise of finally promoting Miranda, his death upends the story.
During an interview with , Frankel shared that he and writer Aline Brosh McKenna "both knew we needed something dramatic — a dramatic twist. Who can we kill? It evolved to Irv. It totally made sense." They realized that Irv "had to die" and with his death being so consequential to the story, "It couldn't just be that he's in a coma somewhere. Irv had to go." Frankel compared this to a twist from the first movie that was shocking while also taking the story in a different direction. Check out his additional comments below:
Because you have this takeover, the whole company becomes vulnerable. For us, it kind of recalls the taxi accident with Emily in the first one. It's something you don't see coming that actually really pivots the story in a fun, dramatic way.
According to Frankel, Feldman was pleased by his character's fate, and filming the funeral led to some memorable moments from Kenneth Branagh and Justin Theroux. They respectively play the new roles of Miranda's husband Stuart and billionaire Benji Barnes, the latter of whom attempts to buy Runway after Irv's passing.
Tibor was great, and he was funny. He wanted to see his own funeral, so he came to the service just to see how Irv was remembered. The most memorable part of that, aside from the dialogue and Justin's improvs, which were hilarious: Kenneth Branagh learned to play the violin for that scene. He knew he was playing a violinist; he trained for weeks to learn how to finger and bow, and he was really professional about it. He's playing there, which is pretty cool.
Due to Irv's death, Miranda not only loses her promotion as Elias-Clark's head of global content, but the entire future of Runway and the job security of all its employees are put in jeopardy. With Irv's son, Jay Ravitz (B.J. Novak), now in charge, the second half of the story becomes largely about the fight for Runway's survival, which greatly changes things for Andy, Miranda, Nigel, and Emily.
While Emily being hit by the taxi led to Andy becoming Miranda's first assistant in the original movie, Irv's death puts Andy in the position of making difficult choices about what she believes is best for Runway and for herself, Miranda, and Nigel, and ultimately making the right call in . It's a pivot from the first half of the sequel, which is more focused on Andy's return to Runway as she helps the magazine recover from a scandal.
, Irv plays a bigger role in the sequel, even before his death. The promotion he's planning to give to Miranda, his reaction to the Runway scandal, and hiring Andy to turn things around are all important early on, although it's later revealed that the Andy part was orchestrated by Nigel. Irv's death then becomes the catalyst for the rest of the story.
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After grossing $233 million worldwide at the opening weekend box office, , and Andy now a full-time editor at Runway working closely with Miranda and Nigel, another sequel is definitely a strong possibility. Irv wouldn't be in the next one due to his fate, but his death raises the bar for another twist that is just as surprising and impactful.
Cast
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Miranda Priestly -
Andy Sachs
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