Country music star Dolly Parton decided against appearing in Jennifer Aniston's remake of the 1980 movie 9 to 5 due to age concerns.
Parton, who died at the age of 80 on Tuesday following a brief battle with cancer, initially expressed excitement about the upcoming reimagining. However, she later concluded that she and her former co-stars, Jane Fonda, 88, and Lily Tomlin, 86, were hesitant to make cameos alongside a younger cast.
Speaking in an interview with HuffPost published last summer, Parton explained the reasoning behind her decision to step back from the project. "I think a lot of it is that, you know, we're all older now. We're not gonna look that good on the big screen. All of us up there with all those beautiful, young, fresh people... So I don't know," Parton said. She added that she had no plans to be in Aniston's new version of the film.
The original 1980 workplace comedy marked Parton's Hollywood acting debut. In the cult classic, Parton, Fonda, and Tomlin starred as three office workers taking drastic measures to deal with their sexist boss, played by the late Dabney Coleman. Beyond her starring role, Parton wrote and performed the hit title track 9 to 5, which earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song in 1981.
Cameo Doubts and Script Development
News that Aniston was producing a remake of the classic comedy alongside screenwriter Diablo Cody first surfaced nearly a decade ago. In 2024, Parton initially voiced enthusiasm for the reboot, saying, "I'm hoping they use my song, and I'm hoping they might find a way to have Lily, Jane and me come back in." She reversed her stance shortly after.
In May 2025, Parton revisited the subject while recalling earlier attempts to reunite the original cast. She noted that she, Fonda, and Tomlin had tried for years to develop a sequel titled 9 to 5: Two, but said the project never materialized. When asked about Aniston's remake, Parton stated that Aniston wanted the iconic trio to be involved in it somehow, but confirmed they had no plans to appear.
Despite opting out of a cameo, the ten-time Grammy winner expressed strong praise for Aniston and the updated storyline. "But I love Jennifer. I think it'll be a wonderful thing," Parton said. She added, "I do wish her the best, because the script I read, I thought, was really good and a new and different take that really brings the office up to date the way that people live now."
Failed Sequel Plans and Original Cast Reactions
Fonda and Tomlin have also spoken about the difficulties of adapting the 9 to 5 storyline for modern audiences. In May 2024, Fonda explained why an earlier sequel script was abandoned. "We had one official crack at the script," Fonda told People. "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!"
Tomlin similarly acknowledged the challenge facing the reboot team. "It's going to be tough to make it happen. My sympathies are with Jennifer and her writer Diablo, who is a good writer," Tomlin said in June 2024. Fonda, a two-time Oscar winner who played Judy Bernly in the 1980 original, echoed that sentiment in an interview with Entertainment Tonight, wishing the creators good luck and calling them very talented while indicating she would not return.
Early Discussions and Casting Suggestions
Parton recalled that discussions regarding a potential 9 to 5 project with Aniston dated back several years. The two crossed paths professionally while working on the movie Dumplin', which starred Aniston and Danielle Macdonald. Although Parton did not appear on screen in Dumplin', she allowed the film to use her existing music library and created a new song with Sia for its soundtrack.
Reflecting on those early conversations, Parton said, "Years ago, when we did the movie Dumplin', there was some mention she might want to do 9 to 5, and I said, 'Oh, that would be great.'" Parton, whose husband Carl Dean once joked about wanting a threesome with Aniston, also offered a recommendation for who should inherit her original role as Doralee Rhodes.
Parton suggested that her goddaughter, singer Miley Cyrus, would be ideal for the part. "Wouldn't she be great? Well, she knows me. She knows the memories that I have from the movie," Parton explained.
Looking back on the legacy of the original 1980 film, Parton described it as a career highlight. She called it a wonderful thing to be part of something that has remained powerful across decades, adding, "It's really amazing to be part of something that really can change the course of life for anybody. I really think this brought a lot of attention to gender equality."
