Who died in 'The Devil Wears Prada' 2? Director reveals unexpected death scene no one saw coming
'The Devil Wears Prada 2' was a nostalgic celebration for many millennials. However, not everything in the movie was joyous, as it featured the death of a returning cast member who set into motion a succession war in the halls of 'Runway' fashion magazine. If you have not watched the movie yet, you might want to look away. The character in question was 'Runway' chairman Irv Ravitz, played by Tibor Feldman. The death happens after Ravitz promises to make Miranda (Meryl Streep) the global head of content for Elias-Clarke, Runway's parent company. However, Ravitz's son, Jay (B.J. Novak), holds the promotion and decides to sell the company.
David Frankel, who returns to direct the sequel, shared that the death was necessary to provide impetus to the plot. Frankel, along with writer Aline Brosh McKenna, devised the death in the script. "We both knew we needed something dramatic — a dramatic twist," Frankel stated to Entertainment Weekly. "Who can we kill? It evolved to Irv. It totally made sense." The second half focuses on how Runway and its parent company move forward from this massive loss. Emily (Emily Blunt) comes into the mix along with her boyfriend Benji (Justin Theroux), a billionaire interested in buying the corporation. It leaves Miranda's legacy at risk of reaching a premature end as Emily makes her intentions to fire the fashion royalty very clear.
The elevated stakes meant that Ravitz needed to be buried, despite how beloved the character was to the fandom. "It couldn't just be that he's in a coma somewhere. Irv had to go," Frankel explained. "Because you have this takeover, the whole company becomes vulnerable. For us, it kind of recalls the taxi accident with Emily in the first one. It's something you don't see coming that actually really pivots the story in a fun, dramatic way," the director added. Frankel shared that Feldman was a good sport about the storyline. The actor oversaw the scene of his funeral service just to get a feel of how his character would be remembered.
The cast also fully understood the importance of the funeral scene and brought their A-game on the day. "The most memorable part of that, aside from the dialogue and Justin's improvs, which were hilarious: Kenneth Branagh learned to play the violin for that scene. He knew he was playing a violinist; he trained for weeks to learn how to finger and bow, and he was really professional about it. He's playing there, which is pretty cool," Frankel explained. Even though he had to bite the dust, Feldman was grateful for the entire experience. During a red-carpet interview, the actor called every day on the set a "dream come true." He added, "A million people will kill for that role, and I lived that dream."
