17 Devil Wears Prada Facts You Probably Never Knew About The Original Film

No matter how many times you've rewatched it, these behind-the-scenes secrets might still come as a surprise.

It was the film that spawned a thousand quotes and memes, and 20 years on, The Devil Wears Prada remains just as iconic as when it arrived on our screens in 2006.

Meryl Streep’s disarmingly spot-on depiction of the fearsome fashion magazine editor-in-chief Miranda Priestly simultaneously inspired and, indeed, discouraged a generation’s dream internship.

With the whole band – including Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci – getting back together for the new sequel, it only felt right to revisit how it all started and uncover a few surprising facts along the way.

Gird your loins, because here are 17 facts about The Devil Wears Prada you probably didn’t know, no matter how many times you’ve rewatched it…

The Devil Wears Prada was originally pitched as a more generic romantic comedy

The acerbic humour and distinctive characters are all wrapped up into what made The Devil Wears Prada such a hit, becoming an Oscar-nominated film rather than a standard landfill rom-com, of which there were plenty in the 2000s.

As it happens, that wasn’t always going to be the case.

It was director David Frankel who pushed for a new script to make the film less of a “mean revenge story” with one-dimensional characters, and more of a coming-of-age story with well-rounded central figures.

“What they were [originally] missing was the sharp humour,” The Devil Wears Prada author Lauren Weisberger told Entertainment Weekly in 2021. “It trended toward what you’d expect from the typical chick flick, like How to Lose A Guy In 10 Days.

“It wouldn’t have been a stretch to see it going in that direction, but [screenwriter Aline Brosh McKenna] took it to a whole different level of smart, sharp, irreverent humour.”

Anne Hathaway wasn’t the first (or, indeed, the second or third!) choice to play Andy in The Devil Wears Prada…

It’s hard to imagine anyone but Anne on the receiving end of Meryl’s withering putdowns, but surprisingly, the future Oscar winner wasn’t the original choice to play Andy.

The film’s director previously revealed that The Notebook star Rachel McAdams was offered the role three times before it went to Anne, saying: “The studio was determined to have her, and she was determined not to do it.”

Rachel herself has also reflected on turning down the role, which she declined alongside other big roles during a break from acting.

“There’s certainly things like ‘I wish I’d done that’,” she told Bustle in 2023. “I step back and go, ‘That was the right person for that’.”

…in fact, Anne Hathaway wasn’t the second or third pick for the role, either

Kate Hudson was also left kicking herself after........

© HuffPost