‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’ Hired a Human Artist to Create the Film’s AI-Generated Meme: ‘It Was Nothing But Fun’ - Variety

Variety Plus Icon Click to expand the Mega Menu Plus Icon Click to Expand Search Input Variety Plus Icon Read Next: LISTEN: ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’ Steps Lively and Repeats Home Film News May 3, 2026 9:45am PT ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’ Hired a Human Artist to Create the Film’s AI-Generated Meme: ‘It Was Nothing But Fun’ “The Devil Wears Prada 2” is getting some appreciation over director David Frankel’s decision to choose a human artist over AI.  The anticipated sequel kicks off with Runway Magazine in hot water after a poor editorial decision, under the helm of editor-in-chief Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep). Priestly becomes the subject of a slew of online hate, GIFs and memes, one of them an AI-style image of Priestly as a fast-food worker.On Friday, the day the film was released, artist Alexis Franklin shared that she created the image of Priestly sans AI. “Would you like some lies with that?” the meme reads.“I got to paint this at the request of David Frankel for ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’ (it shows up in the movie),” wrote Franklin on Instagram, sharing a time-lapse video of her process. She added, “Absolutely no disrespect to Queen Meryl, but this is something I would’ve painted in my free time, so when they asked me to do this, it was nothing but fun.” Related Stories Jimmy Fallon Joins 'SNL U.K.' Host Nicola Coughlan for Chaotic Studio Tour and Explicit Rap Song About 'The Magic Faraway Tree' ‘Devil Wears Prada 2’ Star Simone Ashley on Coming Up With Her ‘Who Gives Away Chanel?’ Line, Channeling Rihanna and Recording Her First EP Between Shoots View this post on Instagram Franklin also took to X to spread the news, writing, “I posted this on Instagram yesterday and got flooded with comments of relief that this gag in ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’ was created by an actual human (me), so I figured I’d also post it here because I think these companies should get their flowers when they hire an artist.” blogherads.adq.push(function () { blogherads .defineSlot( 'medrec', 'gpt-variety-article-mid-article-uid0' ) .setTargeting( 'pos', ) .setTargeting( 'viewable', 'yes' ) .setSubAdUnitPath("ros\/mid-article") .addSize(,,,,,,]) .setClsOptimization("minsize") ; }); Popular on Variety if ( !window.pmc.harmony?.isEventAdScheduledTime() ) { pmcCnx.cmd.push(function() { pmcCnx({ settings: { plugins: { pmcAtlasMG: { iabPlcmt: 2, } } }, playerId: 'fdaee7b3-292f-4a85-89bb-29a56b567de3', playlistId: '073c6e70-0010-4b87-92d0-d891f87f5cd8', }).render("connatix_contextual_player_div"); }); } else { // This should only be get called when page cache is not cleared and it's event time. window.pmc.harmony?.switchToHarmonyPlayer(); } I posted this on Instagram yesterday and got flooded with comments of relief that this gag in The Devil Wears Prada 2 was created by an actual human (me), so I figured I’d also post it here because I think these companies should get their flowers when they hire an artist. pic.twitter.com/NmEvU8NzNo The film’s decision to hire an artist instead of using generative AI has been well-received on social media.One fan responded saying, ”People do crave real art and not AI slop, and this is proof,” while another fan lamented that “the bar is truly in hell” when it’s a novelty for productions to choose human artists over AI.Now in theaters, “The Devil Wears Prada 2” sees the return of Streep, Anne Hathaway as Andi Sachs, Emily Blunt as Emily Charlton and Stanley Tucci as Nigel Kipling, with Tracie Thoms and Tibor Feldman also reprising their roles from the original 2006 movie.“The Devil Wears Prada 2” made $77 million in its opening weekend at the domestic box office and racked up another $156.6 million at the international box office, bringing global ticket sales to $233.6 million for the weekend.