Disney Channel Will Debut Fourth 'High School Musical' Film In 2010
Production Set To Begin On Latest Franchise Installment
Thomas Umstead -- Multichannel News, 3/3/2009 3:33:19 PM
Disney Channel will tap its popular High School Musical movie franchise a fourth time as the network announced production later this year on the latest entry.
The fictional East High Wildcats will feature a new cast of characters when High School Musical 4 premieres on Disney Channel in 2010, according to Gary Marsh, president, Entertainment, Disney Channels Worldwide.
Peter Barsocchini will once again pen the script for the fourth High School Musical movie, while Bill Borden and Barry Rosenbush return executive producers.
The first two High School Musical telepics premiered on the Disney Channel and drew nearly 600 million viewers worldwide. The August 2007 premiere of High School Musical 2 ranks as the No. 1 cable telecast of all time, drawing 18.6 million viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research data measured on a live + seven-day basis.
The third installment of the series, High School Musical 3: Senior Year, premiered in theatres October 2008 and has grossed $250 million worldwide at the box office.
"The High School Musical trilogy introduced a new generation to the celebrated genre of movie musicals. In crafting this next iteration, we've challenged the entire creative team to raise the bar again -- and create something truly worthy of this extraordinary global phenomenon," said Marsh in a statement.
