Lily Tomlin knows the challenges of a 9 to 5 sequel, which is why she feels Jennifer Aniston‘s reimagining of the iconic 1980 film is going to be “tough to make.”
The actress, who starred alongside Dolly Parton and Jane Fonda in the original movie, recently opened up to People magazine about their attempt to write a follow-up to the beloved film in 2018.
“We had one official crack at the script,” Tomlin recalled. “The draft just didn’t work for us. We couldn’t really see the work world today [in the pages]. People work from home. They take gig work. They don’t even know their boss. They’re at home!”
Though all three women were going to reprise their roles for the sequel, Parton later told Entertainment Tonight that they had ultimately “dropped that whole idea.”
“I don’t think we’re going to do the sequel,” the “Jolene” singer said at the time. “We never could get the script where it was enough different than the first one, and that one turned out so good.”
Last month, it was announced that Aniston was producing a reimagining of 9 to 5, with Oscar-winning Juno writer Diablo Cody penning the script.
When Tomlin heard the news, she admitted, “I felt sort of the same way I felt about the [2009 Broadway] musical. You know, part of you feels rejected. You think that character’s yours always. And you could reembody it.”
However, the Grace and Frankie star also recognized how much the workplace has changed over the decades, which is why she feels “it’s going to be tough to make [the movie] happen.”
Tomlin added, “My sympathies are with Jennifer and her writer Diablo, who is a good writer.”