Jennifer Aniston has wrapped season 4 of The Morning Show and she’s now fully focused on her 9 to 5 remake – and top priority is recruiting the hottest young female stars to join the production, with Sydney Sweeney, Zendaya and Ariana Grande “at the top” of her casting wish list.
“With another season of The Morning Show in the can, Jen is focused on getting her 9 to 5 remake in shape and it’s looking increasingly like Jen will be starring in the film in addition to producing it,” a source exclusively tells Life & Style of the remake of the 1980 film starring Dolly Parton, Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin. “The script is looking good and so Jen is now turning her attention to recruiting some next-generation talent into the project, and there’s only a handful of names on her list that can add to the momentum of the project.”
Jennifer, 55, has her eyes on Zendaya, 28, Sydney, 27, and Ariana, 31, to be a part of the film because the women have “proven they can do comedy and bring their own fan bases into film projects.”
That said, the Challengers star, Wicked actress and Anyone But You starlet are currently pulled in a million different directions, so scheduling would be a “problem.”
“Sydney and Zendaya are heavily booked for the next twelve months and Jen wants to make this movie next year if she can,” the insider reveals to Life & Style. “The 9 to 5 remake isn’t technically green-lit yet [by Disney-owned Twentieth Century Studios] but getting a ‘yes’ from one of these actresses, and making them permanent members of ‘Team Aniston’ is the key step that Jen is undertaking right now.”
Jennifer shared her desire to remake 9 to 5 while filming Duplin’ with Dolly, 78, in 2018. Since then, Jennifer has steamrolled with the project so that cameras can go up after the remake is approved by studios. While searching for the perfect cast, it was only natural for the Just Go With It star to offer a returning role for the “Jolene” singer.
“Jen wanted Dolly involved in a big way in the 9 to 5 remake but everybody around the project right now, which is currently seeking its director, is preparing for the reality that the only thing the movie might get from Dolly is the right to use her famous classic theme song,” a source told Closer in August 2024. “Dolly may have said some nice things about the project in the past but Dolly is old, Dolly still works all the time, and even a small cameo or a brand new song could be asking too much.”
Three months prior, a second insider told the outlet that 9 to 5 has been a “very special movie to Jen” since she was a little girl.
“It’s a movie that changed her life. Forty years later, with Jen finally coming into her own as a high-powered producer and a serious businesswoman,” the second source told Closer at the time. “She’s finally ready to tackle this material that meant so much to her back in the day.”
