April 09, 2008

'High School Musical 4' Is On The Way -- But Will Zac Efron, Other Stars Be Back?

By Shawn Adler (MTV.com)

Troy, Gabriella, Sharpay and the rest of the "High School Musical" gang are about to enter their senior year, but the East High Wildcats will live on with a fourth installment in the wildly successful series already under way, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

"We are writing 'High School Musical 4,' " Disney Channel Worldwide President Rich Ross confirmed to the Tinseltown trade.

Stars Vanessa Hudgens, Zac Efron, Ashley Tisdale, Lucas Grabeel, Corbin Bleu and Monique Coleman are currently preparing for "High School Musical 3: Senior Year," which will follow the sextet as they navigate their way to graduation and will be the first in the series to get a theatrical release.

Could they all return for a fourth go-round? In January, Efron told MTV News that he was ready to say goodbye to the crew, insisting that "HSM3" was "going to be the farewell to the East High Wildcats for a while. It's the third act. This is the legacy that we leave. ... I think it's going to be a good way to go out with a bang."

But Ross is crossing his fingers anyway. "Are we going to have all the cast back? Probably not," Ross told the Reporter. "Will we have some of them? I hope so."

According to the magazine, it's highly likely that some new castmembers introduced in "HSM3" will continue on with the series. They include Matt Prokop, Justin Martin and Jemma McKenzie-Brown.

The script for "High School Musical 4" is currently under tight wraps, but Ross says it will have an exciting story in the proud tradition of the previous films.

"We have learned that just putting a number next to a title is a very old idea," Ross said. "We have to have a new story."

There's no word yet on whether "HSM4" will get a theatrical release or premiere on the Disney Channel.