High School Musical: The Musical: The Series could be setting up a huge cast change for season 4, with more key actors leaving or appearing in a reduced capacity. The latest installment of the popular dramedy unfolds at Camp Shallow Lake, following protagonists Ricky (Joshua Bassett) and Gina (Sofia Wylie) and others as they put on a summer production of Frozen. As the latest High School Musical story moves away from its central East High location, the show has made significant efforts to introduce several fresh faces to the ensemble. HSMTMTS season 3, episode 2, “Into the Unknown,” puts the focus on several of these new arrivals, offering a peek into what the High School Musical spinoff could look like in the future.
"Into the Unknown" sees Jet (played by Adrian Lyles), the mysterious and sullen camper at Shallow Lake, stunt with a perfect audition, while Maddox (Saylor Bell Curda) has a rockier start. Meanwhile, the Frozen production's new manager refers to herself as an “acquired taste,” confessing that she has difficulty making friends. HSMTMTS season 3 has also offered previews of potentially prominent recurring players, like newcomers Emmy (Liamani Segura) and Alex (Aria Brooks), who could join Jet and Maddox as regulars in the already-confirmed HSMTMTS season 4.
The most notable cast change in the High School Musical series so far has been the loss of Olivia Rodrigo as Nini Roberts. Though she also recurs in HSMTMTS season 3, Rodrigo’s involvement is significantly scaled back as the result of Rodrigo’s sky-rocketing fame and busy schedule as a successful recording artist. As a result, she may well have set a template for her co-stars to follow. Joshua Bassett is a hit singer in his own right, and is soon to embark on an anticipated concert. As for Wylie, she’s set to play the lead character of Agatha in the upcoming Netflix film The School for Good and Evil. If the movie leads to further sequels, HSMTMTS showrunner Tim Federle could be already setting the groundwork for other actors to step into the spotlight - which would mean major cast changes for High School Musical: The Musical: The Series season 4.
How HSMTMTS Can Handle Major Cast Changes
In an interview with Seventeen Magazine, Federle offered a glimpse of HSMTMTS season 4. He said, in part: “I think that this documentary they’re filming [in season 3] for Frozen on Disney+ — which is fake and meta — is going to impact their lives in a big way.” The showrunner doesn’t offer many details beyond that, but it sounds like Ricky and Gina could find themselves dealing with abrupt fame in future episodes. This could open the door for the series to split its time between Hollywood and the familiar hallways of East High, essentially spreading out the cast the way Glee did midway through its run. By allowing Jet and Maddox to rub shoulders with the existing cast, and develop connections with them, the transition into seeing new faces on HSMTMTS could be less jarring if and when it does occur.
Another option that the writers can turn to is bringing back some cast members that only appear as guests in season 3, such as Miss Jen (Kate Reinders). She could guide the new students, acting as a connecting point between past seasons of the dramedy and the future. The fact that High School Musical: The Musical: The Series was given such a quick renewal speaks to the confidence of a narrative still in its middle. And reading between the lines, it sounds like the show might be readying to return with fewer of the actors that audiences have grown to love.
High School Musical: The Musical: The Series season 3 streams Wednesdays on Disney+.