In March 2016, Disney made a huge announcement: there will be a “High School Musical 4” TV movie. However, the release of new updates about the sequel to the original trilogy has since been underwhelming. It is then understandable if some fans are wondering whether the production is still a go.
When Disney announced “High School Musical 4” two years ago, the company’s statement seemed pretty excited about the project with Disney Channel boss Gary Marsh saying the franchise is part of the network’s DNA. “It embodies all that we stand for. As a way of continuing to embrace that heritage, we're excited to announce 'the start of something new' as we launch a search for a new class of East High Wildcats to star in a fourth installment of the 'High School Musical' franchise,” Marsh added (via E!).
The clearest indication that “High School Musical 4” is still in the pipeline is the fact that Disney Channel has not yet officially called off the project. IMDb also still lists it under the category of “in development” movie titles. Unfortunately, these are the only definitive clues fans can hold on to at the moment.
Days after “High School Musical 4” was announced, a list of characters for the TV movie was also reported. This could mean that Disney Channel has started filling in details two years ago, however, there are no reports yet whether the network has started casting for the five main characters.
Meanwhile, fans should not confuse the movie in development with the upcoming TV series “High School Musical 4: The Musical.” The latter was only announced in late 2017 but seemingly saw more progress since then. Last month, Disney Channel revealed its main cast and confirmed it will be released in the yet to launch Disney+ streaming service.
None of the original cast members are confirmed to reprise their roles in “High School Musical 4.” However, the main protagonist named Campbell, also dubbed as Troy 2.0, is the cousin of the Evans twins Ryan (Lucas Grabeel) and Sharpay (Ashley Tisdale). So far, this is the only known direct relation to the popular batch of Wildcats.