Jennifer Aniston seems to be working overtime to get big names on her latest project, according to sources. You might remember, it was first reported a year ago that Jennifer’s production company Echo Films were working on a remake of the hit 1980 comedy 9 to 5.

At the time, no plot details were revealed, but the original film starred Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin and Dolly Parton kidnapping their sexist boss, Dabney Coleman. (And yes, if it sounds familiar – the original 9 to 5 also loosely inspired one of the films Jennifer has starred in: Horrible Bosses.)

A source tells Grazia that while Jen is a big fan of the film’s script, which has been written by Juno scriptwriter Diablo Cody, there’s been issues getting a director and lead actresses for the project. ‘Jen loves the script to 9 to 5 but attaching other A-listers besides herself has proven challenging, especially when it comes to the red-hot younger generation of actors who need to come aboard to make this movie a hot ticket for older and younger women alike,’ the source tells us.

So, who would Jen ideally want? Our source hints that she’s keen on ‘Zendaya and Sydney Sweeney’ – but, understandably, with both returning to Euphoria, Sydney cast in upcoming films The Valley and The Housemaid, and Zendaya set to star in Shrek 5 and Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, their schedules are pretty jampacked.

There had also been reports that Jen had been looking at Wicked’s Ariana Grande for one of the leads. But when Grande was asked about the rumours she was attached to the project with Sydney and Zendaya, she firmly denied any involvement, saying: ‘I’d love to work with all of them, but I think it would be really cool if we worked on something original.’

While the issue of sexism in the workplace unfortunately never seems to go away, the source adds that there’s debate whether 9 to 5 is cool enough to attract Hollywood agenda-setters like Ariana.

‘The 9 to 5 brand doesn’t hold a lot of cultural currency for stars under the age of 40,’ the source adds. ‘It means a lot more to Jen and her generation. As it stands, even with a solid script, the whole project needs an injection of “cool’ – and that really comes down to who Jen chooses to direct this movie and if that choice can finally push the project into a higher gear.’

But all hope is not lost, according to the source. ‘Jen is confident she’ll be able to work through these challenges and sign some big names for the movie, most likely to star alongside her,’ the source tells us. ‘She’s willing to be patient and wait for the right candidates, even if it means pushing the project back by 12 months due to schedule conflicts.’

‘It’s that classic scenario whereby she could get good news any day and the official go ahead and funding would immediately follow,’ the source adds. ‘But at the same time, it could also drag on and be one of those brilliant projects that gets stuck in an unfortunate limbo.’

So, what do we know about the company Jen runs? Echo Films was started in 2008. And it’s actually the Friends star’s second production company – as she co-founded Plan B Entertainment with Brad Pitt, Brad Grey and Kristin Hahn in 2002 (a company which Brad is now the sole owner of). Following her divorce with Brad in 2006, her and Kristin started Echo. Speaking about the ideas the company follows, Jen has said they’re ‘drawn to stories about people finding their voice and finding their way’. ‘That’s why we chose the name Echo, to echo back an idea, a challenge, something that resonates through all of us,’ she added.

The last two projects the company has worked on have been two huge Jen An films for Netflix: Dumplin’, and the second Murder Mystery, which she starred in opposite Adam Sandler. Before that, the company made war film The Yellow Birds in 2017, and 2014 drama Cake (which did horrifically at the box office, despite the fact Jennifer was nominated for Best Actress at the Golden Globe Awards and the Screen Actors Guild Awards).

The company also has another project in the works, The Goree Girls, a film which will follow the story of the Goree All Girl String Band, the first all-female country and western group to make it big – a feat they managed to achieve from prison in Texas. While the project has been rumoured for years, our source says it’s Jennifer’s big passion, adding: ‘There’s been talk in her camp that she could put 9 to 5 to one side and pursue her other big musical passion project, Goree Girls.’

Well, let’s hope one of Jen’s big projects makes it to the screen sometime soon – we could do with watching something good after our 9 to 5.