SPOILERS are ahead for the final season of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, now streaming with a Disney+ subscription.
When it comes to beloved Disney Channel properties, High School Musical is arguably the crowned jewel. The trilogy of musical films not only major boosted the acting careers of Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens, they also had record-breaking premiere numbers on TV and remain popular source material for stage musicals. It’s a modern classic, so when news of a reunion of the original stars was revealed for the fourth and final season of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, fans of the original movies, like me, have been curious about whether it would stick the landing with this reunion. Now that the season has dropped, let’s talk about what went down for the Wildcats of the early ‘00s.
Ahead of the season dropping on Disney+, CinemaBlend spoke to the series’ creator, Tim Federle, and he hinted at the reunion of the original cast members being “more of grace note” rather than the focus on the final season as it seeks to wrap up the current Wildcats’ journeys putting on a stage production of High School Musical 3 amidst their upcoming graduations. Even so, there are some mentions and participation from the original High School Musical actors. What time is it? Time to break it down:
What Is The High School Musical 4: The Reunion In HSMTMTS?
First off, here’s how HSMTMTS sets up this High School Musical reunion. The season starts with East High becoming the setting of Disney’s High School Musical 4: The Reunion and the current Wildcats being recruited as extras as the production is being filmed. It puts somewhat of a wrench in their plans to put on a production of High School Musical 3 ahead of many of the theatre club’s graduations.
In Season 3, some of the current Wildcats met Corbin Bleu while at Camp Shallow Lake as he became the host of a documentary series taking place on the grounds following their production of Frozen. He played a heightened version of himself, and as he told CinemaBlend last year, he enjoyed playing “a bit of an ass” for the season. In Season 4, Corbin Bleu comes to East High to reprise his role as Chad, but he’s not the only original actor to return to his Disney Channel roots.
Who Returns To East High For High School Musical 4?
Now that I’ve seen Season 4 of HSMTMTS in full, let’s talk about the original cast that came back and how the series handled their return. Sadly, not all the Wildcats came together.
Corbin Bleu: As already mentioned, Corbin Bleu returned to Season 4 after previously guesting in Season 3. He’s barely in the season, but we do get to see Bleu and Monique Coleman together!
Monique Coleman: The actress who played Taylor in all three High School Musical movies returns to play herself and Taylor for High School Musical 4: The Reunion. We learn that Taylor is the new principal of East High and is married to Chad in the fake movie. She also gives Courtney a sweet pep talk during the season finale as the high schooler wrestles with which university to go to.
Lucas Grabeel: After the actor behind Ryan briefly returned to East High for a dream sequence musical number in Season 1, Lucas Grabeel additionally returned for Season 4 as himself and Ryan. Grabeel has a small role in the season as well, but one major revelation that occurs is confirmation that Ryan is gay, with a scene that has him kissing his partner and learning that they are expecting twins. The revelation is especially sweet considering Ryan and Sharpay were twins too.
Kaycee Stroh: Kaycee Stroh, who played the role of Martha throughout the High School Musical movies, also returned to the halls of East High as herself and Martha for the fake fourth High School Musical movie. Stroh also has a small role in the season, but we learn that Martha is a “world-class” choreographer in the movie after memorably declaring “hip-hop is my passion!” during the "Stick To The Status Quo" number.
Alyson Reed: High School Musical’s drama teacher Ms. Darbus also finds her way into the show’s High School Musical sequel. In one major scene for the character, Ms. Darbus announces her retirement, but like the other original actors, she gets very little screen time.
Who Doesn’t Return, And Why
Now part of me thought that HSMTMTS was hiding a big surprise and not letting fans know of a surprise massive reunion between the entire cast, but that was not in the cards after all. Here’s who was notably missing and what we know about why they didn’t return.
Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens: Early in the final season, HSMTMTS does share a quick mention of the franchise’s star characters, sharing that Troy and Gabriella would be in couple’s therapy in the fourth movie. While many fans thought it was a clue when both Hudgens and Efron posed in front of East High late last year on separate occasions, it was simply coincidence. When speaking to EW about why Efron and Hudgens are not in the series, he said it was “definitely discussed” but Efron “has 20 movies going” and Hudgens is “super busy and so gracious.”
Ashley Tisdale: Although Sharpay’s brother makes a brief appearance in the fourth season, Sharpay’s place in a fourth movie isn’t even mentioned. Federle did tell People that he believes the character is “now a full CEO” and a “Goop competitor,” along with saying she probably “consulted on Barbie and coached Margot Robbie” through her character. When it comes to why Tisdale couldn’t return, he shared that Tisdale is a new mom who is launching a very successful line of products and her own show on CBS.
So a full reunion on HSMTMTS was not to be, but we at least appreciate the nostalgic cameos! The season ended up being very much about the new generation of cast members who have been the focus of the show all along. Perhaps in the future, the full cast can return for a full-fledged High School Musical 4 where they really get to explore where their characters are all these years later and sing some new songs together. For now, it was a sweet farewell to HSMTMTS!
