David Frankel tells EW the original star "had a really memorable part," but a return "was hard to schedule" for the sequel.
Key Points
- David Frankel tells Entertainment Weekly that an original cast member declined to return for the sequel.
- "I think we reached out," Frankel says, though it was ultimately "hard to schedule" the return.
- EW previously exclusively confirmed that another OG star, Adrian Grenier, would not return for the sequel.
The Devil Wears Prada might've made an actress out of supermodel Gisele Bündchen, but, despite a reported invitation from director David Frankel, the star didn't strut herself back into the Runway offices for The Devil Wears Prada 2.
After Entertainment Weekly previously exclusively reported that fellow OG star Adrian Grenier wouldn't reprise the role of Nate in the sequel, Frankel tells EW he attempted to get Bündchen back on set to no avail.
"I think we reached out to Gisele Bündchen, who had a really memorable part" in the 2006 original, Frankel recalls of the star's role as Serena, one of editor Miranda Priestly's (Meryl Streep) snooty Runway magazine staffers who famously compliments budding journalist Andy Sachs' (Anne Hathaway) new fashion-forward look in the iconic Chanel boots scene.
"When we were shooting last summer, she was having a baby, and out of town, it was hard to schedule it," Frankel says of Bündchen, who gave birth to a child — her first with Joachim Valente — in February 2025.
Frankel says Bündchen is "the only one" from the first film who declined to return for the sequel when asked, though fellow OG actors Grenier (Nate), Simon Baker (Christian Thompson), Rich Sommer (Doug), Daniel Sunjata (James Holt), Rebecca Mader (Jocelyn), and Stéphanie Szostak (Jacqueline Follet) also don't return in the sequel.
EW has reached out to Bündchen's representatives for comment.
Frankel also confirms that "Heidi Klum came back and has a nice cameo" in the second film, as do many others — including pop star Lady Gaga, who also performs the Doechii-assisted soundtrack song "Runway."
Bündchen previously joined her fellow Devil Wears Prada stars for a 15th-anniversary reunion interview with EW in 2021, where she opened up about reported concerns in the fashion industry about the project, as it was adapted from writer Lauren Weisberger's book, which was inspired by her time working under Vogue editor Anna Wintour.
"She's a more reserved person [but] she was always very nice to me," Bündchen told EW of Wintour at the time, adding that she didn't recall negative sentiment in her industry circles. "I think she loved the movie. I mean, I'd be happy if Meryl Streep played me!"
Elsewhere in the 2021 interview, Frankel said he had a frigid interaction with Wintour in Miami after she attended the premiere of the first film.
"I remember her daughter nudging her through the screening, like, 'They got that right!'" Frankel recalled. "A couple years later, I was at a tennis tournament in Miami…seated behind her, and when it was over, I made the effort to introduce myself. 'I'm David Frankel, the director of The Devil Wears Prada,' and [she took her] hand out of [my handshake]!"
Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our EW Dispatch newsletter.
The director also revealed that he attempted to film Wintour for an unscripted cameo in The Devil Wears Prada 2, but that she "jumped her cue" and he was too nervous to ask her to do a second take, so the footage didn't make it into the final cut of the movie.
The Devil Wears Prada 2 — additionally featuring the return of Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci — is in theaters Friday.
Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly
