Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens declined to star in High School Musical: The Series season 4

10 August 2023, 17:19

High School Musical reveals where Troy and Gabriella are now

By Sam Prance

Ashley Tisdale was also asked to appear in High School Musical: The Series season 4 but decided not to.

High School Musical: The Musical: The Series showrunner Tim Federle has revealed that he did try to get Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens and Ashley Tisdale to appear in season 4. However, all three ultimately declined to star in the show's final season.

Ahead of the release of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series season 4, Disney+ revealed that the show was coming to an end and multiple original High School Musical stars would help bid HSMTMTS goodbye. Rumours surfaced that Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens would appear in the show when they shared Instagram posts of them both on the set.

READ MORE: Is Olivia Rodrigo in High School Musical: The Series season 4?

Cut to HSMTMTS season 4 coming out and Zac and Vanessa are nowhere to be seen. Now, Tim Federle has explained why.

Why are Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens not in High School Musical: The Series season 4?

Speaking to Variety about the fan demand for Zac, Vanessa and Ashley to feature in the show, Tim said that he did reach out to all three actors in the hopes that they would cameo in the show in some capacity. However, it didn't come to fruition. He said: "Yes, there was an earnest attempt. At the same time, I don’t know any of the three personally."

Tim then added: "I had a conversation with Ashley and she was busy launching these big brands. It felt to me like it wasn’t going to be realistic, and the door was left open for them." To this day, it remains unclear why Vanessa and Zac both took photos and videos of themselves outside of the East High School set in 2022.

While Zac, Vanessa and Ashley are not in season 4, Corbin Bleu (Chad), Lucas Grabeel (Ryan), Monique Coleman (Taylor), Kaycee Stroh (Martha), Alyson Reed (Ms. Darbus) and Bart Johnson (Coach Bolton) all appear as themselves returning to East High to film a fictional High School Musical 4: The Reunion movie.

Season 4 also references where Zac and Vanessa's characters Troy and Gabriella are now. In a scene in which Corbin, Lucas and Monique explain the plot of High School Musical 4, they say "Troy and Gabriella are in couple's therapy".

Tim ended by saying: "Look, the takeaway is that someone should make a real High School Musical 4.

As it stands, there is no official word from Disney on whether or not an actual High School Musical 4 will be made.

Nevertheless, Zac has actually expressed interest in making High School Musical 4 with the original cast. In 2022, E! News asked Zac if he would be interested in starring in fourth High School Musical or a reboot.

Without hesitating, the actor said: "Of course. Seriously, having the opportunity, in any form, to go back and work with that team would be so amazing. My heart's still there."

So, while we may never get to see Zac and Vanessa in HSMTMTS, there's still hope for High School Musical 4!

Read more High School Musical: The Musical: The Series news here:

• High School Musical series confirms Ryan is gay in new 'reunion' trailer
• High School Musical: The Musical: The Series makes history with Disney's first LGBTQ+ love song
• High School Musical: The Musical: The Series fans praise Ashlyn's coming out scene
• Has Olivia Rodrigo left High School Musical: The Musical: The Series? Here's what she's said
• Olivia Rodrigo and Joshua Bassett just reunited on the red carpet

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