Zac Efron has revealed that he is open to and enthusiastic about returning to the High School Musical franchise but his wish for a reboot movie would be a mistake. The idea was submitted to him as a question during a promotional interview with E! News about his role in the Firestarter remake based on Stephen King’s novel. Although Efron had a few roles prior to being cast as Troy Bolton in the first High School Musical, the Disney phenomenon made him a household name.
The original High School Musical premiered on Disney Channel in 2006 but created a legacy that continues to this day. The movie spawned two direct sequels in the late 2000s, a spinoff film about Ashley Tisdale's Sharpay Evans character, a stage adaptation, a concert tour, and High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, which kickstarted Olivia Rodrigo’s music career. The current series even included a guest appearance from Lucas Grabeel, who played the newsie-cap-wearing Ryan in the original High School Musical trilogy.
Given the continuing popularity of the High School Musical franchise and its hand in bolstering Efron's ascent to stardom, it's not a surprise that he's open to returning in some way. Efron's subsequent movie career is partly why High School Musical 4 never happened, and he previously missed Disney Channel's 2016 reunion to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the original movie, even though his former co-stars returned for the event. But a legacy reboot involving the original characters of the story would be a weird direction when the film trilogy very neatly wrapped up Troy Bolton's story and the Disney+ series has managed to bridge a gap to reach a younger audience.
As implied by its title, the High School Musical trilogy focuses on the high school years of its main characters, and the third film deals with the decisions they have to make as they go off to college. Zac Efron's Troy has to figure out how to pursue both athletics and theater while also maintaining his relationship with Gabriella (Vanessa Hudgens, who continues to have a successful career in star-studded movies like Tick, Tick,...Boom!). After stressing and singing about the decisions to be made, everything is settled by graduation and all of the character storylines are ended satisfactorily.
An attempt to revive the story of the original High School Musical characters seems very unnecessary and would likely upset the fanbase in trying to create new dramas for Troy and Gabriella to go through. The spinoff movie Sharpay's Fabulous Adventure could be seen as a failed experiment in exploring the post-graduation careers of the High School Musical characters, as it was released direct-to-video and was met with muted enthusiasm in comparison to the original trilogy. In comparison, the High School Musical spinoff show on Disney+ has continued the franchise in an interesting way that allows for homage to and appearances from performers from the original movies that don't upset audiences.
Though its story is built around its Disney Channel Original Movie predecessor, High School Musical: The Musical: The Series works on its own and feels fresh in spite of its connection to the trilogy. It has introduced new characters who are beloved by viewers in their own right and who shouldn't be overshadowed by a reboot or revival starring the original characters. Having already featured Lucas Grabeel, and Corbin Bleu set to appear in season 3, it would be more fitting for Efron to make a similar guest appearance in the show instead of as Troy in a formal revival. This way, Efron could show his appreciation for High School Musical's role in his past while also being respectful of the new direction and future of the franchise.