The Devil Wears Prada star Adrian Grenier received one final diss from the blockbuster sequel that rejected him.
David Frankel, who directed the original 2006 film and its upcoming sequel, revealed that he had originally planned for Grenier’s controversial character, Nate, to make a cameo in The Devil Wears Prada 2.
“I had an idea about sneaking him into a cameo,” Frankel, 67, told Entertainment Weekly on Wednesday. “And, in the end, it was just too late in our production schedule to make it happen.”
According to Frankel, the blockbuster sequel to the 2000s cult classic film starring Meryl Streep, Stanley Tucci, Anne Hathaway, and Emily Blunt finished production earlier in April, less than a month before its official release date. Frankel said that there just “wasn’t time” to slot in the Entourage star.
According to Grenier, however, he never even received a call about potentially reprising his character.
“Obviously, it was a disappointment that I didn’t get the call to be in the sequel,” he told Page Six in March. “I also understand that there’s some backlash with Nate, so that might have something to do with it. Either way, it’s a disappointment.”
Nate, the former boyfriend of Hathaway’s Andy Sachs, was widely hated by fans of the first film for his perceived immaturity and unsupportiveness.
While the director refused to comment on the nature of Grenier’s canned cameo, he took a moment to acknowledge the actor’s awkward consolation prize.
“No, I probably shouldn’t say. But, I think I’m thrilled that he did a Starbucks commercial, which was really funny and so self-effacing,” Frankel said of Grenier’s awkward Starbucks ad.
Frankel, in what appeared more as a backhanded compliment than true admiration, applauded Grenier’s decision to do the marketing tie-in.
“I love the humility and the comedy of it!” he concluded.
On the same day that Streep, 76, graced the cover of Vogue as her fearsome fashion editor character, Miranda Priestly, Starbucks released a 30-second commercial wherein Grenier toasts Nate and acknowledges his exclusion from the new film.
“You might have seen the headlines—I wasn’t asked to be part of a certain sequel,” Grenier says in the ad, looking directly at the camera. “I’m good. Really. It’s all good energy.”
“I mean, if they call... I’m free,” he admits at the end of the commercial.
Grenier is not alone in his rejection from the $100 million film. Earlier this week, EW reported that Sydney Sweeney was also cut from the highly anticipated sequel.
Sweeney, 28, was allegedly going to play herself in a three-minute scene, but the appearance was cut as a “creative decision,” according to a source close to the film. Sweeney had already filmed the entirety of the sequence and was even spotted by fans on the film’s New York City set.
The controversial actress would have appeared at the beginning of the film during a fashion fitting to reintroduce Blunt’s character, Emily Charlton, who is now the head of Dior U.S. after serving as Priestly’s assistant in the first film.
The Devil Wears Prada 2 will premiere in theaters on May 1.
