One of the most talked about moments in The Devil Wears Prada 2 Turns out it was made the old-fashioned way, and fans are celebrating the fact that a human artist was hired to create it instead of a generative AI tool.
The sequel begins with Miranda Priestly becoming the subject of an online discussion, including a meme depicting Meryl Streep’s iconic editor-in-chief as a fast food worker, with the caption “Would you like some lies with that?”
When the film premiered on Friday, artist Alexis Franklin revealed on Instagram that she had painted the image herself and shared a time-lapse of her process as proof.
“I had to paint this at the request of [director] David Frankel for The Devil Wears Prada 2 (appears in the film),” Franklin wrote, adding that the assignment seemed tailor-made for him.
“No disrespect to Queen Meryl, but this is something I would have painted in my spare time, so when I was asked to do this, it was nothing but fun.”
He also posted on X, noting the reaction his revelation had provoked.
“Yesterday I posted this on Instagram and was flooded with comments of relief that this joke The Devil Wears Prada 2 “It was created by a real human (me), so I thought I’d post it here too because I think these companies should get their flowers when they hire an artist.”
The online response was warm, although tinged with some sadness at the current state of things.
“People crave real art and not AI crap, and this is proof,” one fan wrote.
Another noted that “the bar is really in hell” when a production that casts a human artist instead of an AI has become worthy of celebration in itself.
The Devil Wears Prada 2 opened to $77 million domestically and $156.6 million internationally in its opening weekend, for a global total of $233.6 million.
The film reunites Streep with Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci, along with returning cast members Tracie Thoms and Tibor Feldman.
