Craig Melvin just confirmed on April 8 that Jenna Bush Hager will appear in The Devil Wears Prada 2, slipping the news live on NBC’s Today and setting off a flurry of surprised reactions. This kind of morning-show reveal doubles as free publicity—studios have long leaned on familiar faces to help broaden event-movie audiences.
The moment played out mid-broadcast when Melvin, 46, casually dropped, “You know how I can tell? JBH is in it!” The Today co-hosts reacted instantly: Jenna looked stunned, Savannah Guthrie laughed and admonished, “This is live— you cannot tell Craig anything!” (Al Roker later quipped that it was “common knowledge” now). A clip of the spill was posted to X by TMZ, providing a primary record of the live moment.
Neither Melvin nor the show offered additional details about Jenna Bush Hager’s part; NBC and the film’s studio have not released a formal cameo announcement. What is clear is the ensemble backbone of the project: Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci are all confirmed to reprise their original roles in the sequel, which revisits Andy Sachs two decades after the first film as Runway navigates a transformed media landscape.
Production has been attracting high-profile contributions. Lady Gaga and Doechii recorded an original song, titled “Runway,” for the picture, and Sydney Sweeney was photographed on set last summer, though her exact role hasn’t been disclosed. The principal cast has been traveling on a global press tour as the studio builds momentum.
Jenna Bush Hager’s cameo isn’t unprecedented—morning-show personalities and media figures have appeared in films before—but its timing is notable. A surprise pop of familiar, nontraditional star power can help signal to mainstream viewers that a sequel isn’t just for the franchise’s old fans; it’s an event. That strategy—folding everyday media faces into tentpole marketing—has become a quiet but effective way to broaden reach beyond traditional movie audiences.
On-air embarrassment aside, Melvin tried to limit the fallout, asking producers to “cut it out for the other feeds” and apologizing to Bush Hager during the broadcast. Jenna herself declined to elaborate on camera, keeping the role under wraps for now; she previously acted in a Hallmark film (Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story), so a cameo is not out of character.
Industry watchers and fans will be looking for an official studio confirmation or a credit listing on databases like IMDbPro, which typically updates cast pages ahead of release. For now, audiences should expect more promotional appearances and gradual reveals as the film’s marketing campaign progresses—after all, sequels rely on steady drip communication to sustain buzz.
What’s next: no release date was announced during the Today moment, and the studio has yet to confirm Jenna’s role. But with the core cast reunited, an original song in place and high-profile cameos already rumored or sighted, The Devil Wears Prada 2 is shaping up to be a mainstream media moment—one that landed unexpectedly on live television this week.