It’s a little hard to say who the real villain is in The Devil Wears Prada 2.
In the 2006 original film, it was clear who the big bads were. There was Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep), the terrifying editor-in-chief of Runway who made it a point to ruin the lives of any designer, writer, or assistant who got in her way. She was the bane of Andy Sachs’ (Anne Hathaway) short-lived career in the fashion industry, although she did reveal a smidge of humanity towards the end of their time together.
There was also Nate (Adrian Grenier), Andy’s “supportive” boyfriend who was quick to give her the cold shoulder as soon as her career started to take off. Yes, Andy wasn’t the perfect girlfriend, and yes, she had to miss a number of dates (and a birthday) as she struggled to prove her worth at Runway. But Nate repeatedly shamed her for taking the Runway gig, despite knowing that she was doing it to get a foot through the publishing door. He was a selfish, fragile boyfriend, and perhaps it’s a good thing he doesn’t make an appearance in The Devil Wears Prada 2.
But this sequel, especially because it has so much to say about the publishing industry, presents us with a number of players who all represent different shades of villainy. So, in honor of the film hitting Philippine cinemas, we’ve rounded up some of the most clear antagonists and what makes them so dangerous to Andy, Miranda, and Runway as a whole.
Emily Charlton: A Familiar Friend (or Foe)
Oh, Emily! The ex-Assistant Numero Uno, played by Emily Blunt, still can’t get over how horrible Miranda was to her during her time at Runway. This is understandable, considering how she was so unceremoniously uninvited from the magazine’s Fashion Week in Paris (after months of starving herself, no less). But 20 years later, even though she now has a pretty good gig as one of Dior’s marketing executives, Emily still can’t let old grudges die. She’s out for this blood this time, and Andy and Miranda best tread lightly around this former Runway acolyte.
Jay Ravitz: Finance Bro Extraordinaire
Nepo babies can either be a hit or miss, but in Jay Ravitz’s case, he’s a miss. Played by B.J. Novak, Jay is next in line to gaining full control of Elias-Clarke, the publishing behemoth that his grandfather and father worked so hard to build. Unfortunately, Jay isn’t the type to be concerned with good writing or good taste — he does, after all, only dress himself in puffer vests and nylon pants (classic finance bro). Jay is happy to end his phone calls with “Aligned,” work on his gender-neutral terminology, and cut corners wherever he can when it comes to managing Runway’s already reduced budget. But, as he so earnestly told Miranda when asked about the future of the magazine, “I’m ready to take this football into the endzone.”
Benji Barnes: Tech Billionaire and AI Believer
Benji, played by Justin Theroux, is essentially Jeffrey Bezos with a receding hairline. Blessed with a multi-billion dollar tech empire, Benji is more than a little liberal when it comes to spending his never-ending supply of cash. As a sort of courting gift for his latest lover (no spoilers here), Benji decides to purchase Runway, despite not knowing anything about running a magazine. This matters little to the tech bro, who believes that one day, there won’t be writers, models, or fashion anymore, because AI will have replaced them all. Yikes.
