On March 1, 2016, Disney Channel tweeted:
Once a Wildcat, always a Wildcat! The casting search for #HighSchoolMusical4 starts today! #HSM #HighSchoolMusical pic.twitter.com/SNlnjFIk84
— Disney Channel (@DisneyChannel)
Yes, you read that correctly. The successful Disney franchise is giving it another go, creating another sequel to add to the "High School Musical" collection. While some believe this is a risky move, it is understandable why a fourth film is in the works: director Kenny Ortega and his team made groundbreaking numbers on the sequel, "High School Musical 2," reaching 7.7 million viewers on the date of the premiere, and 6.1 million viewers the night after in just the United States. Overall, the film earned 17.3 million views, almost 10 million more views than the original "High School Musical."
On Jan. 20, 2016, there was also a release of a 10 year anniversary special, during which millions of fans took to social media and voiced their appreciation of the franchise. They also voiced their disappointment over Zac Efron, the film's leading man, not making an appearance, proving that "High School Musical" fans, even after 10 years, still are "all in this together."
While the "High School Musical" fandom is strong, and the first three films in the franchise were incredibly successful, there is one component that concerns super-fans like myself when we hear about the fourth movie: none of the original cast is planning on being used in the film. Although there is always the possibility of a short cameo from Sharpay and Ryan Evans, the creative team announced that they are on the search to cast a completely new group of actors to recreate the magic that is "High School Musical."
Not only will it be a completely new cast, but Kenny Ortega is also not going to be the director. The new director will be Jeffrey Hornaday, known for choreographing the films "Flashdance," "A Chorus Line" and Disney Channel original movie, "Teen Beach Movie." While it might be disheartening that we will no longer see a spunky Kenny Ortega running around in behind-the-scenes footage, or a shirtless Zac Efron professing his love toward a stunning Vanessa Ann Hudgens, this does mean that we all finally have the chance to pursue our dream of being in a "High School Musical" film.
Within the same week of this film being announced, the character synopses were revealed as well: Erin, the bad ass soccer player; Derek, the dancing bad boy; Campbell, a reinvented Troy Bolton; Nathalie, the kind-hearted cheerleader and Erin's best friend; and Tamara, the former queen bee. Oh, there's also a special emphasis on the fact that the character of Campbell is Sharpay and Ryan Evans' cousin.
If you can see this as "The Start of Something New" for you and think you can "Bop to the Top" as one of these roles, then take my advice and bookmark this page. It is where all of the open casting call information will be posted.
Now, with the new release of "High School Musical 4"s open casting call, and the character synopses for the leading characters, here are 6 of the best responses to the news of there being an open casting call for the movie:
"They're making a High School Musical 4 without the original cast and I'm like:"
— what (@chanelpuke)
"High school musical 4"
— berenjena (@cucchiaia)
"wait hold up THEY ARE MAKING HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 4
.....without the original cast this is not ok YOU NEED THE GUY WHO BAKES AT LEAST"— danny (pol trash) (@epDannyEdge)
"When you find out High School Musical 4 will not include the original cast."
— (@shel_what)
Whether you're excited or terrified for "High School Musical 4," we all can agree that every single "High School Musical" fan in the world is going to do whatever they can to show up at that open casting call, and be in that film... like me!
