Simone Ashley joins star-studded cast of 'The Devil Wears Prada 2'
The sequel to the iconic 2006 film reunites original stars Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt, and Stanley Tucci. Filming began on 30 June 2025, with the film scheduled for release on 1 May 2026.
Simon Ashley is known for her role as Kate Sharma in Netflix's Bridgerton , she also impressed audiences in Disney's The Little Mermaid and Netflix's Sex Education .
Her casting has stirred excitement among fans, who see her as a fresh and glamorous addition to the star-studded ensemble, according to Deadline.
On social media, one fan remarked, 'Now that's a sequel worth watching twice!' while another praised her, saying, 'Simone's gonna kill it in this sequel no doubt'.
The film will revisit Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep), the formidable editor-in-chief of a leading fashion magazine. She will navigate the turbulent decline of the print industry.
Emily Charlton (Emily Blunt), once Miranda's assistant, has risen to become a powerful executive in the luxury advertising world.
The The Devil Wears Prada sequel explores their fierce competition for relevance and revenue in a changing media landscape. Kenneth Branagh will portray Miranda's husband, adding new dynamics to the story.
David Frankel returns as director, with Aline Brosh McKenna reprising her role as screenwriter.
The original producers, Wendy Finerman and Karen Rosenfelt, are also back. This ensures the continuity for this much-anticipated follow-up.
The original film that grossed over $326 million worldwide (approximately R 6.3 billion) and earned two Oscar nominations.
Simone Ashley expressed her excitement with a stylish nod on Instagram. The actress posted a red high heel emoji, symbolising her entry into the glamorous world of The Devil Wears Prada .
This move marks a significant step in her career. It positions her alongside Hollywood's elite in a film that remains a cultural touchstone for fashion and film enthusiasts alike.
As anticipation builds, Ashley's involvement adds fresh energy to a beloved franchise. Fans can look forward to seeing how she will strut her stuff alongside Streep, Hathaway, and Blunt.
In Ashley's own words, shared via social media: 'Stepping into this iconic story with such incredible talent is a dream come true. I can't wait for everyone to see what we've created.'
With filming underway and a May 2026 release date set, the countdown begins for what could be one of the year's most glamorous movies.
Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1.
Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Maverick
2 days ago
- Daily Maverick
The Old Guard 2 — botched sequel is stripped of everything that made its predecessor memorable
It's been five years, but the immortal mercenaries of comic adaptation The Old Guard, led by Charlize Theron's axe-wielding Andy, are back in a movie sequel on Netflix. Somehow, though, in that time the franchise has lost its edge. Back in Covid times, audiences were starved for fresh blockbuster entertainment. Cinemas were closed. People were stuck at home. Enter streaming services, especially Netflix, with their own selection of big-budget movie escapism delivered directly to your TV screen. One of the films that ticked those boxes and stood out from this period was 2020's The Old Guard. Based on the comic series by Greg Rucka and Leandro Fernández, and written by Eisner Award-winning Rucka himself, The Old Guard mixed visceral action with musings on mortality, and threw in some surprising LGBT+ representation as it focused on a group of unkillable mercenaries. For centuries, this band has been secretly fighting on the side of good, although leader Andy (Charlize Theron), AKA axe-wielding Andromache of Scythia, has grown cynical. Her efforts seem pointless when the world seems as dark, violent and cruel as ever. Without giving anything away, by the time sequel The Old Guard 2 starts – watch it on Netflix now – Andy has embraced her mission with renewed enthusiasm. The issue now is the emergence of a hitherto unknown immortal, much older than Andy and her squad: Discord (Uma Thurman), who was formerly paired with immortality expert Tuah (Henry Golding). While Tuah proves to be an ally, sour-faced Discord is out to destroy Andy, and that starts by unleashing the latter's mentally unstable ex, and original companion, Quỳnh (Veronica Ngô), who has turned misanthropic after centuries of torment. It all sounds good and well on paper, but fans of the original soon realise that Part 2 of the onscreen Old Guard saga has stripped out everything that made its predecessor memorable. The edges are gone; Andy's labrys is blunted. Almost immediately, The Old Guard 2 rolls back or retcons the narrative choices that introduced a meaty sense of consequence by the end of the first film. What's a bigger punishment for a lonely immortal than subjecting them to a century of exile from their found family? Well, it turns out it doesn't matter. Six months later they're welcomed back into the fold. No spoilers, but there's an even bigger plot point reversal, paired with some clunky, nonsense exposition. Now, it can be argued that this is comic tradition – no one stays dead; there's always a workaround to return to the status quo. Certainly, The Old Guard 2 has a strong comic book feel in its choices of locations and set décor. This includes a secret Chinese nuclear facility that is all chrome, glass and neon, and could be mistaken for a modern art gallery, or Discovery's Sandton headquarters. However, it's impossible to forgive how, repeatedly, The Old Guard 2 botches its handling of what made the original work. For example, the action scenes. You can get creative and brutal when you're dealing with characters who have instantaneous healing, but barring one dismembered finger and a gruesomely torn ankle, it doesn't feature in the film. Even worse, with a switch from The Woman King's Gina Prince-Bythewood to Victoria Mahoney in the director's chair, something has gone horribly wrong with the hand-to-hand fight choreography. Combat lacks punchiness, feeling instead like someone filmed a slowed-down rehearsal. To be fair, The Old Guard 2 does feature one sequence with memorable visual flair. A stroll through the back alleys of Rome transports Andy back through time. But that's it. And, on top of it all, queer themes are dampened down to be nearly nonexistent. A passionate kiss between two male characters in the first film, following a poetic declaration of love, has no equivalent here. The closest moment in the sequel is when the same characters chastely touch foreheads. There's no shortage of talent in The Old Guard 2, which also features Chiwetel Ejiofor in a key supporting role, but nobody has much to work with, barring Matthias Schoenaerts with a concluding character arc. Thurman looks like she doesn't want to be there, and her performance sits in the no man's land between overblown and sinisterly subdued. Meanwhile, though it's no fault of the actors, the long-awaited reunion between Theron's Andy and Ngô's Quỳnh is completely lacking in emotional payoff, going the route of clichéd and superficial conversations instead. Then again, it turns out that The Old Guard 2 is a lot like Pirates of the Caribbean 2 in the sense it expands on a story that didn't necessarily need further exploration. Ultimately, it cheekily serves as a stepping stone to a third Old Guard instalment, with no satisfying resolution whatsoever. DM
IOL News
2 days ago
- IOL News
Hooked on drama: 'The Waterfront' reels in streamers with a gripping crime family saga
Holt McCallany as Harlan Buckley, Jake Weary as Cane Buckley in 'The Waterfront'. Image: Dana Hawley/Netflix © 2025 If you enjoyed 'Ozark', then 'The Waterfront' is a must-see. My curiosity was piqued after seeing countless binge-watchers rave about it on social media, and I can confirm: it did not disappoint. Interestingly, the eight-part series is inspired by real-life events. The dysfunctional Buckley family is at the heart of the narrative. The Buckleys are an influential family that dominates the local fishing industry in Havenport, North Carolina. Aside from their fishing empire, they run a restaurant, which has been in the family for a long time. Unfortunately, the health setback of patriarch Harlan (Holt McCallany), who has survived two heart attacks and is not entirely out of the woods, has seen him step back from operations, leaving the business in a precarious financial position. As such, his wife Belle (Maria Bello) and their son Cane (Jake Weary) agreed to do a few drug runs with their fleet of fishing boats to keep the debt collectors at bay. Of course, the family isn't unfamiliar with criminal activity. Harlan's father ran a cartel before he was executed by rivals. Meanwhile, their recovering drug addict daughter Bree (Melissa Benoist) is fighting her own battle, having lost custody of her teenage son Diller Hopkins (Brady Hepner). Topher Grace as Grady, Josh Crotty as Nate, Brady Hepner as Diller Hopkins in 'The Waterfront'. Image: Dana Hawley/Netflix © 2025 The first episode kicks off on a tense note when the family's sold boat, the Miss Glory, is found beached, the heat is on them. With allegations of drug-running swirling around, especially with the dirty local sheriff Clyde Porter (Michael Gaston) sniffing around. Clyde has his own side drug business going, and he blackmails the Buckleys into working for him. Having grown up watching his father navigate this world, Harlan, supported by Cane, takes the reins in getting the family out of the current mess. However, the situation is compounded by Bree's relationship with DEA agent Marcus Sanchez (Gerardo Celasco), who is a recovering heroin addict looking to cement his career by taking down the Buckleys. To settle a score with her brother Cane, who testified against her and cost her her son, Bree feeds Marcus information until she realises the ramifications of her actions. Amid Harlan and Cane attempting to put out fires, Belle tries to save the family legacy by getting into bed, literally, with Wes Benson (Dave Annable). Harlan attempts to outsmart Clyde by directly approaching his supplier, Grady (Topher Grace). This decision leaves him in a difficult position, caught between safeguarding his family and appeasing his new psychopathic boss's excessive demands. Holt McCallany as Harlan Buckley and Maria Bello as Belle Buckley in 'The Waterfront'. Image: Dana Hawley/Netflix © 2025 'The Waterfront' is laden with plenty of tense moments and curveballs. And it is compounded by the arrival of Shawn West (Rafael L. Silva), the new bartender who also happens to be Harlan's illegitimate son. That's not forgetting Cane's high school sweetheart Jenna Tate (Humberly González) moving back to town to take care of her ailing father. Despite both of them being married, the chemistry is unmistakable, especially to Cane's wife, Peyton (Danielle Campbell). The casting is phenomenal in this series. McCallany's commanding presence is wonderfully offset by Bello as his take-charge wife. Confident, unfazed and ambitious, she brings a forward-thinking dynamic to the family. Weary initially comes across as endearingly naive, but streamers quickly warm to him. He proves his mettle and demonstrates he is his father's son through his sacrifices and occasional blunders. Benoist commendably portrays her conflicted character, balancing her role as a mother striving to reconcile with her rebellious son and her duty to her family. Despite being the black sheep of the family, she's as tough as nails and doesn't buckle under pressure. Grace wields his ruthless side with wild abandon and commendable dexterity, all while maintaining a dangerously calm disposition and an undeniable charm. 'The Waterfront' seamlessly blends the gritty intensity of 'Ozark' with the compelling drama of 'The Sopranos'. Its script is a taut, engaging, and adrenaline-fuelled, masterfully navigating between danger and drama. It can get a bit soap-esque at times, but you will lap up every bit of mayhem and victory, especially with a sequel hinted at the end. ∎ Rating: 4/5 **** a standout series with exceptional qualities.
IOL News
2 days ago
- IOL News
From coop to cinema: Phil and Jacqui Cunningham's inspiring animation journey with 'Jungle Beat 2: The Past'
The delightful animated characters in the movie, 'Jungle Beat 2: The Past'. Image: Supplied Several years ago, an itch to take kiddies' storytelling further saw Phil Cunningham and his wife Jacqui make an interesting leap into film-making from chicken farming. It was on the back of the release of Phil's children's book, "The Legend of the Sky Kingdom". This endeavour evolved significantly when he and his wife established Sunrise Animation Studios. Their debut project was Africa's inaugural feature-length animated film, rendered in 3D motion style, based on Phil's book. What was remarkable about this undertaking was that it was based on puppets and a set design made out of trash sourced from a scrapyard closeby to their office. In doing so, they pioneered an animation style known as junkmation. The film was screened at festivals all over the world, and it led to the couple embarking on 'Jungle Beat', a 13-episode series created by Brent Dawes. It ended up running for eight seasons and fuelled two other spinoffs, 'Munki and Trunk' and Jungle Beat Explorers'. 'Jungle Beat' found a new home on YouTube when the TV deals ran out, and, based on it exceeding 10 million subscribers, led to the release of 'Jungle Beat: The Movie", which was shown on Netflix when the pandemic struck. Several years later, the husband and wife duo have dropped the sequel, "Jungle Beat 2: The Past", which was released on the big screen on June 27. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading Film-maker and passionate storyteller, Phil Cunningham. Image: Supplied In a quick chat with Phil, he unpacked the journey. 'It's such a rewarding and exciting moment for everyone who has been part of this journey. We wrapped production on the first movie just as the pandemic swept across the world, and the cinema release plans in most of the 30 countries where we had signed were scuppered. 'The movie still found an amazing audience on streaming platforms, but it's really special to see 'Jungle Beat 2: The Past' going to the big screen.' On the shift from chicken farming to filmmaking, Phil explained: 'I grew up with a deep love for storytelling from early childhood, and my upbringing in Zimbabwe was filled with larger-than-life characters and incredible stories. 'My first experience of a movie in a cinema was when I was 14 years old, so it was a late introduction, but I was so impacted by the power of film as the most effective story medium of our generation. I initially built a business in the agricultural industry, but was always writing and sketching and had a very clear sense that film-making and storytelling were what I was born for. 'Fortunately, my wife is one of the most courageous, adventurous people I know, and she played a major role in encouraging me that life is too short not to pursue our greatest passions.' Unpacking the key aspects in making an animated feature, he noted: 'Our mission statement is to inspire through story, and I think that a story worth telling is the most important aspect of making any film. 'On that foundation, I think animation production is an incredible, integral team effort, where the collaboration and trust between each artist and department are so important. 'It's been such a joy to work with the extraordinary team we had on 'Jungle Beat 2: The Past'. Our production timeframe was just over two years, which was accelerated through having so many of our character models and other assets already created from the first movie. 'However, my initial idea of a nice, efficient sequel process was disrupted by the imagination of our director and writer, Sam Wilson, whose inspiration brought dinosaurs, time travel and a whole new Jurassic world into play!' He added: 'The film is a joyful, wholesome celebration of loyalty and friendship, and I think these themes are carried by a really exciting, funny story and group of characters. I think families will share a lot of laughs and leave feeling uplifted.' Phil revealed that there are plans to also release the movie worldwide. ∎ 'Jungle Beat 2: The Past' is showing at cinemas nationwide.
