Bart Johnson, Alyson Reed and Kaycee Stroh will also get their heads in the game on the Disney+ series.
The East High Wildcats are back together -- the original ones that is!
Disney+'s High School Musical: The Musical: The Series is staging a mini High School Musical reunion with several original cast members for season 4, which kicked off production in Salt Lake City, Utah, earlier this week. Original franchise stars Corbin Bleu, Lucas Grabeel and Kaycee Stroh -- all of whom have previously appeared on the musical comedy series -- are returning for the upcoming season, where they'll be joined by Monique Coleman, Bart Johnson and Alyson Reed.
The High School Musical reunion is fitting, considering the new season centers around an East High production of 2008's big-screen movie, High School Musical 3: Senior Year. Of course, plans go awry when Principal Gutierrez announces that Disney has decided to make the long-awaited High School Musical 4: The Reunion movie on location at the beloved high school. Season 4 will feature songs from the High School Musical franchise, as well as original music.
Bleu, who recurred on season 3; Grabeel, who guest starred in a season 1 episode; and Stroh, who made a cameo in the freshman season; all return to play heightened versions of themselves, while also resurrecting their High School Musical characters, Chad Danforth, Ryan Evans and Martha Cox, respectively. Coleman joins the series as herself and will bring back to life her High School Musical role, Taylor McKessie, as do Johnson and Reed, who reprise their roles as Troy Bolton's dad, Jack, and Ms. Darbus, respectively. The current class of Wildcats will play extras in the film.
Additionally, HSMTMTS will welcome new recurring cast members Kylie Cantrall, who plays social media star Dani; Matthew Sato, who portrays sitcom actor Mark; Caitlin Reilly, who steps into the shoes as indie film director Quinn; and Vasthy Mompoint, who plays choreographer Krystal.
They'll all join series regulars Joshua Bassett, Sofia Wylie, Dara Renee, Julia Lester, Frankie Rodriguez, Kate Reinders and Liamani Segura. Notably, Matt Cornett, Larry Saperstein and Joe Serafini are not listed as series regulars for season 4 at the moment.
Ahead of HSMTMTS' third season, Bleu waxed poetic about having Coleman join the Disney+ party. (Bleu and Coleman reunited for the show's season 3 premiere party.)
"I don't want to speak for her, but I'm pretty sure that she would love to be a part of it too," he told ET in July. "It still does mean so much to all of us. But I think what's great about, even in season 3, is we do hark back to our Disney Channel days. And just when you think back to the times when we were on Disney, all the different shows that we're on, we would all cross paths. You think about Jonas Brothers. You think about Raven-[Symone] and The Cheetah Girls. We all did grow up in that machine together. So I feel like there could be a lot of different opportunities. But I think Monique is such a great choice."
Following the finale, creator Tim Federle hinted at the drama and hijinks that await the Wildcats with the old guard stepping back into the halls of East High.
"This show has always been built on the shoulders of the OGs and we wouldn't have a show without that incredible original trilogy. What I find gratifying and moving is that when our show was announced, there was a lot of, 'I'm not going to watch this if Zac [Efron] and Vanessa [Hudgens] aren't there.' And then by the end of season 1, Ricky and Nini were trending," he told ET in September. "I think we can all exist under the same metaphorical roof of East High, which is a long way of saying, I really think that Ricky, Gina, Kourtney, Ashlyn, Big Red, Carlos and Seb -- these characters really drive the modern audience for our series. And yeah, I think you can expect some familiar faces from the past, but the real drive is ultimately the series cast."
High School Musical: The Musical: The Series is streaming now on Disney+.
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