One takeaway from the official trailer of The Devil Wears Prada 2 is the fact that Andy Sachs is different, very different. Even Emily Charlton (Emily Blunt) says she’s “much more confident.” In essence, the Andy Sachs who first stumbled into Runway, clutching her sad purse and sweating in her lumpy “cerulean” sweater, would definitely have a panic attack if she shared an elevator ride with the version of Andy Sachs everyone will see on May 1, 2026, when the long-awaited sequel drops.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to conclude that this is because Anne Hathaway, the talented actress who plays the character, has spent the last two decades or so dismantling that “naive girl” archetype her character was famous for. Every role she’s taken since then has taught a different lesson in power, pain, and how not to be a doormat. Forget a simple reunion, this sequel is going to be a showdown. But to fully understand why Andy 2.0 is a total software upgrade, you need to see the glitches she had to work through first, and these 9 movies will show just that.
1. The Devil Wears Prada (2006)
Of course, this was always going to be first on this list because it’s where it basically began for Hathaway and her Andy Sachs character. Andy gets plunged straight into the fashion hell that’s Runway Magazine in The Devil Wears Prada. She’s mocked for not knowing the difference between cerulean and cobalt (honestly, who did?), and then she has to learn to decode Miranda Priestly’s (Meryl Streep) icy stares just to make it to lunch, let alone get through the day.
The magic in this performance from Hathaway is that Andy learns by observing. Instead of trying to become a boss overnight, she becomes a sponge, absorbing every brutal lesson until she pretty much knows the rule book by heart. Every movie Hathaway has been in since then has more or less been Andy figuring out which of the pages on that rule book she has to tear out and burn.
2. Rachel Getting Married (2008)
In Rachel Getting Married, Hathaway plays the role of Kym Buchman, a young woman who’s temporarily released from rehab so she can attend her sister, Rachel’s (Rosemarie Dewitt) wedding. One would expect Kym to be civil, at the very least. But, no. She basically crashes the wedding (not in a good way) and turns every sentimental toast into a therapy session about her own disaster.
If Andy 1.0 is a pro at swallowing her feelings, Kym is the exact opposite. She’s a human hand grenade with the pin already pulled. Hathaway is a raw nerve here, unlikeable, messy, and impossible to ignore. Her performance here mirrors the emotional meltdown that Andy never really allowed herself to have, and it shows what happens when you stop saying “sorry” and just let your ugly, real damage hang in the air for all to see. Come to think of it, this is something we could finally get to see in Andy 2.0.
3. Love and Other Drugs (2010)
Love and Other Drugs sees Hathaway embody Maggie Murdock, a young woman with Parkinson’s and a deep-seated allergy to pity. To ensure that no one sees her struggles, she builds Fort Knox-level walls… until she just can’t hide it anymore. Andy’s vulnerability makes you want to shake her and say, “Snap out of it.” But Maggie?
This strength of hers would drive anyone into protection mode, just ask Jamie Randall (Jake Gyllenhaal). And Hathaway sells it with zero sugar-coating. The scene where she fights with a “stupid” shirt button hits harder than any breakup scene. Ultimately, this movie answers the question Andy hasn’t faced yet: what happens when your own body (or your heart) totally betrays your ambition. Watching this movie gives you the sense that Andy 2.0’s challenges won’t just be about deadlines.
4. The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
This final installment in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight trilogy features Hathaway in the role of Selina Kyle, aka Catwoman. She’s basically the valedictorian of the school of hard knocks. No fancy title, just survival skills that give her an edge even in a room full of billionaires.
This is Andy’s power of observation turned up to eleven. Hathaway plays Catwoman with the calm, cool, and precise swagger of someone who knows she’s the smartest person in the room. Overall, this is the exact energy Andy 2.0 is likely going to walk back into Runway with. And with a performance like this, you can bet your top dollar that Hathaway pulls it off with as much skill and precision.
5. Les Misérables (2012)
Hathaway plays the role of Fantine in this epic period musical film. After losing her job, she turns to a life that forces her to sell her hair, her teeth, her body, and ultimately her dignity, all for a dream that’s already dead on arrival. Both Andy and Fantine understand the value of sacrifice. But while Andy’s propels her up the social ladder, Fantine’s ultimately leads to her death.
This role has been one of Hathaway’s most poignant over the last two decades because she commits fully. Her “I Dreamed a Dream” isn’t some pretty Broadway moment; it’s snotty, ugly, and devastating. It shows the dark, forgotten cost of the glittering world Andy once wanted so badly. It’s the ghost that will likely haunt her fancy new office as the Features Editor for Runway magazine.
6. Interstellar (2014)
In Interstellar, Hathaway’s Dr. Amelia Brand joins a space mission to save humanity. She starts off like most of her scientific data-driven compatriots, before a catastrophic loss forces her to consider the wildcard theory that, maybe, love isn’t just a feeling, but actual quantifiable data that would benefit their mission. She then proceeds to argue that fact with people who wouldn’t look past the theoretical aspect of things, without backing down.
Old Andy was especially afraid of looking and sounding naive. Dr. Brand, on the other hand, willingly stakes her entire mission on a gut feeling. And if Andy 2.0 is to be taken seriously, she has to be more like Dr. Brand 2.0 and trust her gut without apologizing for doing so.
7. The Intern (2015)
Hathaway plays the role of Jules Ostin, Ben Whittaker’s (Robert De Niro) boss at a growing fashion startup, in The Intern. She’s literally living Andy’s endgame fantasy: CEO of her own chic fashion startup. And guess what? She’s utterly miserable. The pressure is crushing her marriage and her sanity.
Hathaway lets you see all the nasty cracks in the “perfect founder” image. The scene of her crying in the car after work? Yeah. That says it all. Essentially, her life is the perfect example of what “be careful what you wish for” looks like. It’s Andy’s likely future, complete with the emotional breakdown and burnout.
8. Colossal (2016)
Okay, here’s where it gets weird. Hathaway portrays Gloria in this sci-fi/comedy film. She’s a hot mess whose personal spiral in a sleepy small town somehow manifests as a giant monster destroying Seoul. It’s a metaphor, and it’s absolutely brilliant.
Hathaway goes dark, playing a woman whose lack of self-control has literal and catastrophic global consequences. Her performance shows you what toxic power looks like, or more accurately, what happens when someone who’s always been stepped on finally gets the upper hand… and has no idea how to wield it without breaking things. Hopefully, that’s not Andy 2.0.
9. Eileen (2023)
You’ve probably heard someone say, “The quiet ones are the scariest.” That’s Eileen Dunlop (Thomasin McKenzie) to a tee. Creepy, coiled, and so repressed she could snap at any second, Eileen works in a prison and lives a life of tight-lipped gloom, until a new woman, Rebecca Saint John (played by Hathaway), walks in and ignites a dangerous obsession. You have to know that Rebecca is a whole mood. She’s this dazzling, razor-sharp psychologist who pretty much owns any space she walks into. The twist? This isn’t a story about the quiet girl finally snapping (sorry, Eileen). It’s about the magnetic woman who makes you want to follow her into the dark, even if you know better.
Think about it: in The Devil Wears Prada, young Andy watched Miranda with a mix of fear and awe. Here, the roles are sort of reversed as Eileen watches Rebecca with pure desire. And that’s the kicker, the real power lesson. It’s not about having a breakdown. It’s about becoming the person everyone orbits, the sun in their solar system. That’s who you’d expect Andy 2.0 to be in the Prada sequel.
If you can, find time to watch these movies one after another. Doing so will enable you to see Hathaway’s evolution… just before she graces the big screen once more as a new and improved Andy Sachs.
