Dolly Parton is reuniting with Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin for a sequel to their smash 1980 movie hit, 9 to 5.
According to the Today show, Fonda confirmed the news on Wednesday (July 25) at a Television Critics Association press event, telling reporters, “Right now, Dolly, Lily and I are all intending to be in it.”
The news comes just months after speculation about a possible sequel began to spread, after movie studio 20th Century Fox reportedly said it was interested in asking Angie Tribeca star Rashida Jones to collaborate on a script for a sequel with 9 to 5 screenwriter Patricia Resnick.
The 1980 film followed the adventures of a group of downtrodden secretaries who turn the tables on their chauvinistic boss, played by Dabney Coleman. Parton said in March that a sequel would make sense in the #MeToo era.
“I’ve been talking to Lily and Jane … Actually all these years, we’ve talked about doing a sequel to 9 to 5 and it never made any real sense until just recently,” she tells ABC’s Nightline.
Deadline reports that a sequel would focus on three young women dealing with similar issues in the modern workplace who turn to the original three leading characters for advice.
Fonda doesn’t think the workplace has changed for the better since 9 to 5 was released in 1980.
“I’m sorry to say the situation is worse today,” she states. “Today a lot of the workforce is hired by an outside company. Who do you talk to if you have a problem?”
She also points out that social media has made it easier for employers to spy on their employees, but Fonda still expressed some faith in the #MeToo and #Time’sUp movements.
“I do think sexual harassment will tend to drop,” she says. “Guys are scared.”