Why Devil Wears Prada 2 Didn’t Have Adrian Grenier’s Cameo as Nate Revealed

The buzz around The Devil Wears Prada 2 is growing fast, but one familiar face, Adrian Grenier, is missing from the lineup. Fans noticed right away that Nate isn’t returning, and now both the actor and the director have explained why that decision happened behind the scenes.

David Frankel considered Adrian Grenier’s cameo in The Devil Wears Prada 2

Director David Frankel revealed that a small appearance for Adrian Grenier was actually planned in The Devil Wears Prada 2. The idea was to include him in a brief cameo, but it never made it into the film.

According to Frankel, production simply ran out of time. “It was just too late in our production schedule to make it happen,” he told EW, explaining that the film was nearly complete before the idea could be executed.

Adrian Grenier, who played Nate Cooper opposite Anne Hathaway in the original The Devil Wears Prada, also shared his side. He admitted to PEOPLE that he felt “disappointed” about not returning but understood why things turned out that way.

Over the years, Nate became a controversial character among fans, with many calling him unsupportive of Andy’s career. Grenier acknowledged that backlash, sharing with EW that he now sees how the character could come across as “selfish and self-involved.”

The original film followed Andy Sachs navigating a demanding job under Meryl Streep’s Miranda Priestly at Runway magazine. As Andy’s career took off, her relationship with Nate struggled, eventually leading to a breakup before a brief reconciliation. That storyline shaped how audiences viewed Nate, which likely influenced his absence in the sequel.

Even without him, the sequel brings back major cast members. Hathaway returns as Andy, alongside Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci, while Streep reprises her iconic role. The film, which hits theaters May 1, continues the story nearly two decades later with a fresh angle.

In the end, Nate’s absence came down to timing and shifting audience perception. The door may not be fully closed, as Nate himself has said that his character “might need a spin-off.”