Masked singer
The planned 9 to 5 sequel has officially clocked out.
A source familiar with the project — initially set to reunite stars Jane Fonda, Dolly Parton, and Lily Tomlin in a follow-up to their 1980 comedy — has confirmed to EW that the movie is no longer moving forward with production.
The confirmation comes after Parton told Entertainment Tonight in an interview published Tuesday that the film was “dropped” by those involved.
“I don’t think we’re going to do the sequel,” Parton speculated. “We never could get the script to where it was enough different than the first one, and that one turned out so good.”
Parton went on to explain that the trio is still “thinking we might do a completely different thing together” instead of continuing with development of the 9 to 5 reboot.
The idea to continue the story beyond the original Oscar-nominated hit, which followed three women who kidnap their sexist boss (played by Dabney Coleman), had reportedly been kicked around for decades. Formal confirmation came in early 2018, as Rashida Jones became attached to co-write the script with Patricia Resnick, who penned the first film’s screenplay.
During a July 2018 Television Critics Association panel, Fonda spoke about her intention to serve as an executive producer on the film, which would have supposedly followed a new threesome of coworkers who, in the midst of their own workplace woes, would track down the original trio for guidance.
“I’m working with the writers, with Lily, and talking to the writers. Right now, Dolly, Lily, and I are all intending to be in it,” she told reporters. Parton previously expressed interest in reprising her role as well. “All these years we’ve talked about doing a sequel to 9 to 5 and it never made any real sense until just recently,” the actress-singer said during an interview with ABC News’ Nightline at the top of last year, referencing the contemporary climate of pay inequality and sexual harassment in the professional world. “We decided that we are going to do another one. We are trying to get the script and all that, everyone is very interested, and we’ve all agreed that we’d love to do it if it’s right.”
Though they won’t front a 9 to 5 sequel any time soon, the trio have seemingly maintained healthy professional and personal ties over the years, as Fonda and Parton presented Tomlin with her SAG Life Achievement Award in early 2017, while Fonda and Tomlin have co-starred in the popular Netflix comedy Grace and Frankie since 2015.
Related content:
- Dolly Parton shares new details on 9 to 5 sequel and her original costars’ plans to return
- Jane Fonda confirms 9 to 5 sequel to reunite original cast, tackle modern workplace issues
- Dolly Parton says she and her 9 to 5 costars are in for the reboot
