Adrian Grenier is not returning as Nate in The Devil Wears Prada sequel, and the actor is now sounding oddly at peace with being left out. The film, arriving two decades after the original hit cinemas in 2006, is bringing back Anne Hathaway, Stanley Tucci, Emily Blunt and Meryl Streep, while giving Andy Sachs a new love interest instead.
That change matters because Andy, played again by Hathaway, is now set to step into the role of Runway's new Features Editor. The sequel pairs her with Peter, played by Patrick Brammall, and writers have written Nate out to clear the way for that fresh romance. For fans who spent years arguing over whether Nate was supportive or selfish, the decision lands with a familiar sting.
Director David Frankel said he did think about bringing Grenier back in some small way. “I had an idea about sneaking him into a cameo, and in the end, it was just too late in our production schedule to make it happen,” Frankel said, with filming wrapping less than a month before the scheduled release. That late-stage timing, more than any creative debate, appears to have shut the door on a return.
The omission was not a surprise. In July last year, The Hollywood Reporter said Grenier would not reprise Nate, and the actor later told Page Six that it was disappointing not to get the call. “Obviously, it was a disappointment that I didn't get the call to be in the sequel,” he said. “But I also understand there was some backlash with Nate, the character, so that might have something to do with it.”
He has since leaned into the joke. In a Starbucks advertisement that nodded to Nate being dropped from the sequel, Grenier said, “You might have seen the headlines - I wasn't asked to be part of a certain sequel. But I'm good. Really. It's all good energy,” before adding, “So a toast to Nate. He made a mean sandwich. He loved his girlfriend, to a point. He wasn't perfect. So let's leave Nate in 2006 and keep this good.”
That is where the sequel seems to have landed: not in denial, but in selection. Nate remains one of the film's most divisive characters, and many fans have long argued that he selfishly derailed Andy's career. By replacing that storyline with Peter and moving Andy into a senior job at Runway, the sequel is not just reviving a beloved cast. It is drawing a clean line under the argument that followed the original, and Grenier appears content to let it stay there.
