As I'm sure you have all heard, the Disney Channel is coming out with "High School Musical 4," with an all new cast. The "High School Musical" franchise recently celebrated its 10th anniversary, and, on March 1, announced the nationwide casting call for the fourth installment of the series. The casting call is open to anyone and everyone to set the stage for the next generation of the East High Wildcats.
According to Disney Channel President Gary Marsh, "High School Musical" is part of the channel's DNA, and that's why they came up with the idea for this new take on an old favorite. Jeffery Hornaday, the director of the Disney Channel's "Teen Beach Movie" and "Teen Beach 2," is set to direct and choreograph this movie, and Peter Barsocchini, the writer of the first three installments of "High School Musical," is set to write the screenplay, along with the writer of "Hannah Montana: The Movie," Dan Berendsen.
As a part of the generation that grew up watching the original trilogy, I'm not so sure if having an all-new cast is a great idea. I recall my years of elementary school basketball, stealing Corbin Bleu's famous "What team?" cheer and my friends' junior high lockers being covered in posters of Zac Efron.
I was in the eighth grade when "Senior Year" came out, and we all expected our high school to be full of singing and love at first song. Looking back, it may have been one of the cheesiest movies I've ever seen, but I loved every note. I wanted to be just like Taylor McKessie, because I was nerdy in elementary school. There were even a few days of recess being spent pretending we were the cast, and singing every song and choreographing our own version of the dances. Admittedly, "High School Musical" was always a childhood favorite and nothing could possibly replace that all-star cast.
With that being said, I can understand why they decided to make a new class of "High School Musical" and the Wildcats. However, I've been waiting eight years for them to come out with "College Musical" or "High School Musical: The College Years." The new cast makes much more sense, though, because now, not only can my generation appreciate all the lessons from this series, but a whole new generation can, too. As interesting as a college edition of the movie would have been, not many people would have had an interest in it. My generation is now in college, and the next generation didn't grow up with this cast, so it makes perfect sense to have a new generation of Wildcats at East High. So, cheers to you, Gary Marsh, for your brilliance in keeping a tradition alive!
