Meg Ryan Is at the Top of Jennifer Aniston’s ‘Wish List’ to Star in ‘9 to 5’ Remake

Jennifer Aniston is wooing Meg Ryan for a role in her upcoming remake of 9 to 5, according to an exclusive In Touch insider, who says the longtime acquaintances are also bonding over their lives in general and fast becoming bona fide BFFs.

“Jen and Meg have great communication and decades of mutual respect between them and Jen has been pretty humble about how Meg’s mastery of the romantic comedy genre in the ’80S and ’90S strongly influenced her own work,” one of Jen’s longtime pals explains to In Touch. “As Jen continues to push for 9 to 5 to get green-lit before the end of the year, she’s already putting together extensive wish lists for the cast, which will be an ensemble with roles for middle-aged and late-middle-aged actresses as well as millennial and Gen Z stars.”

The source reveals that “Meg is at the top of Jen’s wish list along with one of Jen’s other huge role models Diane Keaton, who happens to be friends with Meg as well.”

“Basically, if you’re on quote-unquote ‘Team Aniston’ and you’ve shown Jen loyalty over the years, Jen is going to come through for you, either on The Morning Show or with this 9 to 5 remake, which if everything goes as planned will be the biggest project Jen has ever produced,” the source gushes. “Having Meg on the team has other benefits for Jen because Meg is a seriously smart person about everything from dating to beauty to filmmaking. She just gets it and it has been invaluable for Jen to have a working relationship with her over the years and they also work with a lot of the same support staff behind the scenes.”

The City of Angels actor is somebody that the Friends star, 55, is “comfortable being around and asking for advice, and that kind of wisdom is essential as Jen takes on the challenge of leading the producing team on her first giant studio movie.”

In 2019, Jen shared her thoughts on the then-current state of film, admitting that movies are filled with too much Marvel energy.

“It’s changed so much. I think we would so love to have the era of Meg Ryan come back. I just think it would be nice to go into a movie theater, sit cozy,” the Horrible Bosses actor told Variety at the time. “I think we should have a resurgence. Let’s get the Terms of Endearment back out there. You know, Heaven Can Wait, Young Frankenstein, Blazing Saddles, Goodbye Girl.”

Meg, 62, isn’t the only actor Jen is eyeing for the 9 to 5 remake. In August, Closer reported that Jen wanted Dolly Parton, who was a main character in the original 1980 film, to be a part of the project.

“Jen wanted Dolly involved in a big way in the 9 to 5 remake but everybody around the project right now, which is currently seeking its director, is preparing for the reality that the only thing the movie might get from Dolly is the right to use her famous classic theme song,” a source told the outlet at the time. “Dolly may have said some nice things about the project in the past but Dolly is old, Dolly still works all the time, and even a small cameo or a brand new song could be asking too much.”