‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’: Dwayne Johnson Pitched a Part for Himself to ‘Smashing Machine’ Co-Star Emily Blunt

While shooting “The Smashing Machine,” Dwayne Johnson pitched himself to join co-star Emily Blunt in “The Devil Wears Prada 2” as a character “who knew fashion” and “was cool.” Johnson and Blunt reflected on the self-pitch during Entertainment Weekly’s “Awardist” podcast on Nov. 19.

Johnson said, “I pitched myself. I told her when she was shooting,” to which a tongue-in-cheek Blunt added, “He tried.” Blunt joked that Johnson’s character would be someone “who’s great at walking in heels.” Johnson clarified, “Size 15 heels.”

Blunt concluded, “You should see him in a pair of heels. Hot,” as the two laughed.

“The Devil Wears Prada 2” is the highly anticipated sequel to the 2006 dramedy, which saw Anne Hathaway’s Andy Sachs navigate the cutthroat world of high fashion journalism as the assistant to Meryl Streep’s indomitable editor-in-chief, Miranda Priestly. 20th Century Studios is set to release the long-awaited sequel next year, with Blunt reprising her role as Emily Charlton alongside Hathaway and Streep.

The sequel will also see the return of Stanley Tucci as Nigel Kipling, Tracie Thoms as Lily and Tibor Feldman as Irv Ravitz, as well as David Frankel returning to the director’s chair. New to the cast are Kenneth Branagh as Miranda’s husband and Justin Theroux, Lucy Liu and Simone Ashley as original characters. It’s also confirmed that Lady Gaga will have a small role in the film. “Actually, the role Dwayne was going for,” Blunt joked about the pop star’s upcoming part.

Details about the sequel’s story, written by the original film’s screenwriter Aline Brosh McKenna, are under lock and key. Blunt said that she “was thrilled” with the script, but candidly responded to questions about details, “You’re trying to get me to talk about the movie and I can’t tell you anything.”

Blunt stood her ground when asked about the status of her character, who remained Priestly’s loyal senior assistant at the end of the first film. “I can’t tell you,” Blunt said. “I will literally be killed.”

Johnson did chime in that the film’s fanfare was immense, with massive crowds trying to get a glimpse of its New York City set. “Emily would send me these videos. She was kind of in her car, waiting to step out on set in New York City, out in the streets, she was like, ‘Look at this!’” Johnson said. “It was wild. Like, pop star level sighting.”

Evidently, curiosity about the film is rampant, but fans will have to wait until it releases in theaters on May 1, 2026.