High School Musical: The Musical: The Series showrunner Tim Federle talks about the final season's meta reunion movie featuring actors from the original High School Musical trilogy. Soon returning to Disney+ for its farewell run, HSMTMTS season 4 prominently includes a storyline where the show's main characters are extras in High School Musical 4: The Movie. This allows for appearances from the likes of Corbin Bleu, Monique Coleman, Lucas Grabeel, and Kaycee Stroh, all of whom reprise their roles from the trilogy.

In an interview with People to promote High School Musical: The Musical: The Series season 4, which premieres all of its eight episodes on August 9, Federle spoke candidly about the fact that he hoped for the endorsement of the original High School Musical stars. At the same time, the showrunner turned the attention to the cast of the Disney+ comedy and mentioned that, although there's a meta reunion hook, "ultimately it’s about the next generation." Read Federle's quote below:

“I always felt like I was being handed a franchise that I wanted to put away either as intact as when I found it, or at least different with a new generation twist, I really wanted the endorsement of the OGs and they were so cool to play.”

“I always felt like the hook of our show was going to be, it’s like the original, but it’s brand new, come see what we’ve done with High School Musical, come on back to East High. But then I always hoped that the new generation of fans would go along with Big Red (Larry Saperstein) and Ashlyn (Julia Lester) and Ricky (Joshua Bassett) and Gina (Sofia Wylie) and all of these news stories. And so beautifully, I think that’s happened. That’s what the season is too. It’s a big High School Musical 4 hook, but ultimately it’s about the next generation.”

High School Musical Season 4's Meta Hook Is Nothing New

The Disney+ series has had a close connection with its namesake franchise. In season 1, the characters did their own production of the first installment in the High School Musical film series. Joshua Bassett, as Ricky Bowen, took over the role popularized by Zac Efron, and Olivia Rodrigo's Nini Roberts played Gabriella Montez.

The central school in High School Musical: The Musical: The Series is the same location where the trilogies were filmed. Miss Jenn (Kate Reinders) is revealed to be an extra in the High School Musical movies. Though the second and third installments moved somewhat away from leaning heavily on the meta connections, Federle's remarks indicate that the final episodes will bring this premise back while still focusing on the core High School Musical cast of characters.

Those characters have a lot of stories to wrap up in just eight episodes, whether Ricky's secret romance with Gina (Sofia Wylie) or the fact that several of the ensemble are still right in the middle of their respective arcs. It adds plenty of intrigue to High School Musical: The Musical: The Series season 4, which is mere days away from debuting.

Source: People