Disney’s High School Musical franchise will continue … but without the likes of Troy, Gabriella, Sharpay and the other Wildcats we’ve grown to love.
Disney Channel announced Tuesday (March 3) that High School Musical 4 will premiere in 2010 with an all-new cast since the previous cast had graduated in the previous big-screen installment. Production will begin later this year.
HSM 4 will focus on a love triangle involving three students that are also caught in a cross-town school rivalry between the East High Wildcats — Troy and Gabriella’s old stomping grounds — and the West High Knights.
“The High School Musical trilogy introduced a new generation to the celebrated genre of movie musicals,” says network chief Gary Marsh. “In crafting this next iteration, we’ve challenged the entire creative team to raise the bar again — and create something truly worthy of this extraordinary global phenomenon.”
Peter Barscocchini, the screenwriter on the other three movies in the franchise, will also pen this screenplay. Bill Borden and Barry Rosenbush return as the executive producers.
The High School Musical franchise became an international hit, with the second movie’s premiere still the boasting the highest-rated basic cable telecast of all time (18.6 million viewers) and the third installment, High School Musical 3: Senior Year, grossing $250 million at the box office worldwide.
Source: Zap2It
