Devil Wears Prada 2 Death Twist Explained

by Larry FitzmauriceBuzzFeedBuzzFeed StaffI'm a writer and editor who lives in Brooklyn, New York, and I've written for a variety of publications across the last 20 years, including The New York Times, The Guardian, GQ, New York Magazine, Pitchfork, The Fader—the list goes on.

WARNING! Spoilers follow for The Devil Wears Prada 2.

Practically everyone in North America went to see The Devil Wears Prada 2 this weekend. (Well, except me. I've been under the weather!)

Disney / Everett Collection

If you were one of the many in attendance at the cinema, you probably know that the latest installment in the franchise made the very un-Devil Wears Prada gesture of — gasp! — killing off one of the franchise's characters.

Disney / Everett Collection

I am, of course, talking about Runway chairman Irv Ravitz, who's portrayed by the very dripped-out man you see below, Tibor Feldman. Irv bites the dust at a party right before the film launches into its back half, setting the stakes for the future of the fictional publication that exists within the film.

Taylor Hill / WireImage

Now, these films ain't no damn slasher movies, so why are people up and dying in, of all things, The Devil Wears Prada 2? Well, the film's director David Frankel explained all in an interview with Entertainment Weekly — and his reasoning is, I gotta say, pretty sound.

Disney / Everett Collection

"We both knew we needed something dramatic — a dramatic twist," he explained while unspooling the thought process he shared with screenwriter Aline Brosh McKenna. "Who can we kill? It evolved to Irv. It totally made sense."

Disney / Everett Collection

"It couldn't just be that he's in a coma somewhere. Irv had to go," David reasoned. "Because you have this takeover, the whole company becomes vulnerable. For us, it kind of recalls the taxi accident with Emily in the first one. It's something you don't see coming that actually really pivots the story in a fun, dramatic way."

Disney / Everett Collection

And far from feeling tragic about it, Tibor ended up taking part in the funeral of his own character — sort of. "Tibor was great, and he was funny," David said. "He wanted to see his own funeral, so he came to the service just to see how Irv was remembered."

Disney / Everett Collection

The life of an actor, everyone!

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