In Disney world, High School isn't just a place, it's a state of mind.
As production on the big-screen sequel High School Musical 3: Senior Year gets ready to kick off in Utah, the Disney Channel has confirmed the ball is already rolling on a fourth installment of the smash-hit franchise.
"We are writing High School Musical 4," Disney Channel Worldwide chief Rich Ross told the Hollywood Reporter Tuesday.
He admitted, however, that it's unclear which—if any—of the original (and now high-priced) castmembers would return for yet another song-and-dance, especially since Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, Corbin Bleu and their fellow 12th-graders are supposed to be graduating this year from fictional East High.
"Are we going to have all of the cast back? Probably not," Ross said. "Will we have some of them? I hope so."
Either way, he added, new blood would have to be injected to keep the films' tried-and-true formula fresh.
"We have learned that just putting a number next to a title is a very old idea," Ross said. "We have to have a new story."
He and his fellow HSM purveyors are envisioning another made-for-TV movie, although that could change as well.
But first, fans will get the chance to see how the familiar gang's musical trials and tribulations play out on the big screen: HSM3 is slated to hit theaters Oct. 24.