All six major stars of "High School Musical" have officially signed on for third installment of the popular movie series, Walt Disney Studios announced Monday.
Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, Corbin Bleu, Monique Coleman and Lucas Grabeel will star in "High School Musical 3: Senior Year," a feature film. The first two movies aired to a record number of viewers on The Disney Channel.
Kenny Ortega will direct the film based on a screenplay by Peter Barsocchini, who wrote the scripts for "High School Musical 1" and "High School Musical 2."
"I am the luckiest guy in the world and I know it," Ortega says. "This will be our last time together and I love working with these kids so much. It's going to be great."
Apparently, the pending money matters have been settled and image issues addressed since the wait-and-see period following the record-breaking premiere of "High School Musical 2" in August.
In September, the Disney Channel refused to comment on Hudgens' future with the franchise after a few underage nude self-portraits the 19-year-old took for a boyfriend hit the Internet.
Efron inked a reported US$3-million deal in November to return as Troy Bolton for the theatrical sequel, while Hudgens and Ashley Tisdale were also said to have received pay hikes.
(Agencies via Xinhua January 15, 2008)
