HSM Cast Returns for Third Installment

(FROM VARIETY) – The cast of Disney Channel's High School Musical franchise has been confirmed for the upcoming third installment, set to hit theaters on Oct. 24. Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, Lucas Grabeel, Corbin Bleu, and Monique Coleman will all reprise their roles for High School Musical 3: Senior Year, the first HSM film to bow in theaters. Kenny Ortega will direct from a script by Peter Barsocchini. The duo teamed for the first two TV movies. The story is about seniors Troy (Efron) and Gabriella (Hudgens) who, facing the prospect of being separated from one another after graduation, join the rest of the Wildcats and stage a spring musical reflecting their experiences, hopes, and fears about the future. Shooting starts this spring. It was expected that the cast would return for the third movie, though Efron was the biggest question mark, as he is currently shooting the comedy Seventeen for New Line and is signed to star in a remake of Footloose at Paramount. Hudgens was recently cast in Walden Media's dramedy Will. Last summer, 18.2 million viewers tuned into Disney Channel'sHigh School Musical 2, the largest audience for a basic-cable telecast. Disney Channel says the first HSM has been seen by 250 million viewers worldwide since it debuted in 2006.(Variety)