Summary

• Diablo Cody's 9 to 5 reboot will explore intergenerational workplace conflicts, shifting focus from the battle of sexes.
• The remake will highlight changing workplace dynamics since the original and focus on boundaries and cultural clashes.
• Jennifer Aniston's production, led by Cody, may offer a fresh take on the classic comedy, addressing modern workplace issues.

Writer Diablo Cody explains how her remake of Dolly Parton's 1980 comedy 9 to 5 will shift its focus and update its central struggle to capture a more contemporary workplace culture clash. Colin Higgin's comedy starred Parton, Jane Fonda, and Lily Tomlin as a trio of women working under a ruthless, cruel, and bigoted vice president who come together to end his reign of terror. While no sequel ever came to after 39 years of false starts and speculation, Jennifer Anniston is set to produce a remake, with Cody set to write following 2024's horror comedy Lisa Frankenstein.

While Aniston's 9 to 5 reimagining is still in the early days of its development, Cody revealed to Entertainment Weekly how the feature will bring the original movie's scenario into a contemporary city. While explaining how the original movie tackled sexism head-on, Cody highlighted how she saw an intergenerational conflict in the workplace that was rife for exploration, though she was keen not to reveal too much so soon. Check out Cody's full explanation below:

One thing that was really fun about it for me is that the original movie focused on the battle of the sexes and the corporate world. And to me, I see most of the conflict taking place generationally, like Gen Z versus boomers in the workplace, and how now we have this whole generation of people coming up who've learned to set boundaries, and that is actually, shockingly enough, a new development.

You have other generations out there in the corporate world who we're told just to kind of suck it up. So there's definitely a cultural clash there, and I thought, 'Oh, this seems like it's so ripe for comedic treatment.'

It hasn't been cast or anything like that, but I feel like we're moving forward with it. It was really an exciting thing to work on. I would tell you everything, but I don’t want to get in trouble.

Cody's 9 to 5 Analysis Is Promising For The Reimagining

Her Perspective Hints The Reboot Will Build & Expand On The Original's Premise

Not only is the writer shining a light on a under-spoken element of the original movie's conflict but it shows that she is keen to address how 44 years have changed the perspective on what is right in the workplace.

9 to 5 featuring an inter-generational conflict is seen throughout the original, as Violet is a long-term employee of Franklin M. Hart Jr., (Dabnee Coleman) who until the events of the movie, has dedicated herself to 12 years of hard work in hopes of a promotion. She could be read to have played into the system until Hart's dismissiveness of her qualifications before her friendships with Judy (Fonda) and Doralee (Parton) give her a chance to stand up.

Cody's decision to expand on this not only fits with elements of 9 to 5's original dynamics, but can be taken further as more generations have found themselves stepping into the workforce. Not only can the feature explore how the age of time has given the younger generation a better perspective on workplace dynamics, but it also factors in elements such as how race and sexuality can play a part in how employers can make their worker's lives hell. Furthermore, technological advances can offer plenty of ways for its cast of exhausted employees to fight back.

Cody is taking care not to just recreate the original 9 to 5 beat-for-beat. Not only is the writer shining a light on a under-spoken element of the original movie's conflict but it shows that she is keen to address how 44 years have changed the perspective on what is right in the workplace. With the promise of an expanded perspective, Cody and Aniston's reimagining of 9 to 5 may prove to be a worthy update to a classic comedy.

Source: EW