Will Zac Efron's Troy Bolton return in High School Musical: The Musical: The Series season 3? Efron, who portrayed the lead character of Troy Bolton in the High School Musical franchise, set social media ablaze recently when he shared an Instagram photo of himself returning to East High – the franchise’s central location. Paying tribute to another teen classic, The Breakfast Club, Efron captioned his post: “Don’t you forget about me.” This led to a flurry of tweets and comments, all of which hoped Efron would make a cameo in HSMTMTS season 3. These hopes were even more pronounced than usual, though, as Efron wasn’t the only familiar face to drop by the famous spot.
Vanessa Hudgens, who played High School Musical co-lead Gabriella Montez, also revealed in late June that she’d visited her old stomping grounds. The actress posted a video of herself on Instagram, taking in the familiar scenery of East High and sharing some sentimental thoughts. It must be said that the new High School Musical: The Musical: The Series takes place in a world where its namesake movies exist and have become increasingly meta. Even in its first season, the Disney+ show featured Lucas Grabeel as part of a dream sequence. Grabeel played Ryan Evans in the HSM movies, with the series utilizing plenty of references to that end. Kaycee Stroh, who played Martha Cox, likewise had a minor role - though she did not play herself. In both cases, by putting Grabeel in a dream and allowing Stroh to show up as a minor character, HSMTMTS has avoided actually including celebrity cameos in its universe to date.
However, HSMTMTS season 3 does away with that restraint entirely. It features Corbin Bleu, who starred as Chad Danforth in the High School Musical trilogy, as himself. The actor recurs frequently in HSMTMTS, depicting himself in a tongue-in-cheek fashion, which could open the door for Efron and Hudgens to cameo as themselves. At this point, neither Efron nor Hudgens are confirmed to make appearances, but High School Musical: The Musical: The Series certainly feels closer than ever to Efron's appearance thanks to his social media tease and HSMTMTS season 3's new approach to cameos.
How Zac Efron’s Troy Can Appear In HSMTMTS Season 3
HSMTMTS season 3 is wildly self-referential. The key plot of the season centers around the main characters going to Camp Shallow Lake to put on a summer production of Frozen. The production, and the behind-the-scenes elements, will be part of a documentary that’s later streamed on Disney+ produced by Corbin Bleu himself - only adding to the increasingly meta approach of the series. As a result, it makes perfect sense for Efron to cameo in such meta-leaning episodes. Maybe he could appear as part of the documentary, allowing Efron to share the screen with Joshua Bassett’s Ricky Bowen, or alternatively, Efron could help Olivia Rodrigo’s Nini Roberts get a proper sendoff as they cross paths in the well-worn hallways of East High.
It has also been confirmed that Efron wants to make a High School Musical reboot, meaning that the upcoming Disney+ documentary could see the East High alum return to the memorable filming location. Most of High School Musical’s third season looks to take place at Camp Shallow Lake while also checking in on Nini’s music career, which doesn’t leave a lot of space for scenes at East High. While this could be High School Musical: The Musical: The Series season 3 simply wanting to move into fresh territory, it could just as easily signal Disney saving the location for Efron's eventual return to the place that kickstarted his acting career.