Anne Hathaway's New Legacy Sequel Has A Lot To Live Up To After The Devil Wears Prada 2's Success

Published Sep 6, 2026, 9:45 AM EDT Sky Blanton is a Movie Contributor at ScreenRant with professional experience covering movies, television, and pop culture. Her published work spans news, interviews, features, and opinion pieces, with a focus on film, franchise storytelling, and the entertainment industry. She earned her bachelor's degree in Communications with a concentration in Professional Writing and a minor in Business Writing from Southern New Hampshire University. Sign in to your ScreenRant account Anne Hathaway has a difficult legacy-sequel challenge ahead of her. The Devil Wears Prada 2 proved that one of her defining early roles could return to theaters 20 years later and become an enormous hit. Now Hathaway is going back even further, returning as Mia Thermopolis for The Princess Diaries 3. The movie has the advantage of an incredibly beloved character, but it arrives after Hathaway has already shown just how successful a modern continuation of one of her classes can be. What makes The Devil Wears Prada 2 such an important comparison is that the success was not just based on nostalgia alone. Andy Sachs has changed, Miranda Priestly has changed, and the fashion industry around them has changed. The sequel earned $690 million worldwide, more than twice the original's $326 million haul, pushing the franchise past $1 billion. The Princess Diaries 3 now has to answer its own version of the same question that defined the previous Hathaway sequel. The Devil Wears Prada 2 Set A High Bar For Revisiting Anne Hathaway's Classics The smartest thing about The Devil Wears Prada 2 was that it understood a legacy sequel cannot survive on memories alone. Andy Sachs is still not the inexperienced assistant who walked into Runway in 2006. She became a successful journalist, built a life outside of Miranda's orbit, and eventually found herself pulled back into the world she had left behind. The sequel gets its footing from that history without pretending Andy has not thrown since the first movie. The same applies to Miranda and Emily Charlton. Miranda is no longer functioning in an industry where her authority is unquestioned, while Emily has from Runway into a powerful position in fashion advertising. Their new positions give Hathaway, Meryl Streep, and Emily Blunt something worthwhile to explore. Audiences definitely responded to the film. The Devil Wears Prada 2 ended its theatrical run with over double in box office funds, at $690 million compared to the 2006 original. That definitely shows this film was more than just a cast reunion. It took a single beloved movie into Hathaway's first billion-dollar franchise, and it shows that her older characters still have some serious commercial value. Now that eyes shift to Hathaway's future releases, The Princess Diaries 3 has a much more interesting place to start. Mia is no longer waiting to become queen or figuring out whether she wants the crown. She has been Genovia's monarch for years, so the sequel can finally explore the character from the other side of the fairy tale. Instead of watching Mia discover her royal identity, we can now watch to see how she handles the pressures, expectations, and decisions that come with actually ruling a country. Can The Princess Diaries 3 Match The Devil Wears Prada 2's Success? There is a lot riding on Mia's return. The first two Princess Diaries movies gave audiences a complete coming of age story, taking her from an awkward teenager who discovers she is a princess to the woman who becomes Queen of Genovia. Now Hathaway gets to pick that story back up years later, with Mia already settled into her role the previous prepared her for. Julie Andrews' absence will still be felt. Andrews confirmed she will not return as Queen Clarisse, but her reasoning points toward the right direction for the sequel (via Today.com). Clarisse helped Mia become queen, and now it is time to see what Mia does with the crown. Hathaway has also revealed that the movie found a new direction after a "story breakthrough," with Adele Lim attached to direct. Chris Pine and Robert Schwartzman have expressed interest in returning, although neither is confirmed. Their return would definitely be a welcomed bonus, but Princess Diaries 3 cannot depend on recreating the old cast dynamic. That is the real test after The Devil Wears Prada 2. Anne Hathaway has already shown that audiences will come back for a character they loved 20 years ago. Now Mia needs to give them a good reason to come back to Genovia.