High School Musical
Gossip

To many, this might be akin to asking which is their favorite child.

Nevertheless, it's an issue that must be broached, especially as talk of High School Musical 4 heats up: Who is your favorite character from the franchise?

Take a look at the photo below and make your decision.

Clockwise, from top left: Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, Lucas Grabeel, Ashley Tisdale and Corbin Bleu. Leave a comment and let us know which is your favorite. You can only choose one!

At this point, there's little doubt that High School Musical 4 truly will go on. Rejoice, fans!

But just how many from the original cast will take part in the franchise's fourth installment?

Before Vanessa Hudgens, Zac Efron, Ashley Tisdale, Lucas Grabeel, Corbin Bleu and Monique Coleman head to Utah later this month to shoot High School Musical 3: Senior Year - the first in the series to hit the big screen, set for an October release - Tisdale has already counted herself out of a follow-up film.

"We love High School Musical, but we kind of have to move on," Ashley told Us Weekly earlier in the week.

Is High School Musical 4 worth seeing without Ashley Tisdale, Vanessa Hudgens and company?

This doesn't mean, of course, that viewers will never see Tisdale again on the big screen. She said she'd "love to do more romantic comedies in the future," while adding that she's inspired by another blonde actress: Kate Hudson.

Tisdale's admission begs the question, however: Would you see High School Musical 4 if no one from the first three movies appeared in it?

We've been hearing for months that High School Musical 3 - which hits actual movie theaters this fall - would be the last installment in this world-dominatng Disney franchise.

Now, however, The Hollywood Reported is causing screams and tears around the country with the rumor that there are actually plans for High School Musical 4.

"We are writing High School Musical 4, " Disney Channel Worldwide president Rich Ross confirmed Tuesday after a presentation at a midtown Manhattan recording studio, adding that the idea right now is to keep the fourth film as TV movie, unlike High School Musical 3: Senior Year.

Ross hopes to retain at least some of the original cast.

Might Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens and friends return for a fourth version of High School Musical?

What do you think: is High School Musical 4 a good idea? Or is the franchise running the risk of overstaying its welcome?

TV Guide recently caught up with Ashley Tisdale and asked the young star about her career. Yes, fans, she talked about the upcoming High School Musical 3...

TVGuide.com: As you move from your album to now a new movie, They Came from Upstairs, what are your personal challenges?
Tisdale: I never find doing a movie challenging, except for the work. I miss my family, of course, and I miss friends and everything, but I find the work more challenging. I'm always up for a challenge.

TVGuide.com: With all your success, though, and the success of your HSM cast mates, there's added scrutiny, too. How have you seen the media coverage of yourself change over the years?
Tisdale: I don't really pay attention to the scrutiny. People are going to make up stories about you, and people are going to talk about what you did. But you know why you did it. What's most important to me is being known for what I do in my work. I really could care less about paparazzi following me all the time and seeing what I do everyday.

TVGuide.com: In the upcoming High School Musical 3, what can we expect from your character?
Tisdale: I don't know much, because I haven't read the script yet! But I have recorded the songs, so I do know a little bit about it. It is senior year, so there's going to be graduation and prom, but I can't spill much else.

TVGuide.com: How about the songs and music?
Tisdale: All the music is great. They're much bigger productions this time �" they're huge �" so it's going to be really exciting.

Considering the nature of reality TV, we're surprised ABC isn't planning a series based on overweight housewives being sent back to high school and forced to sing alongside the team mascots.

Instead, the network's pitch for a High School Musical-themed reality show attempts to mirror the overwhelmingly successful Disney franchise.

The proposed reality competition, set to air this summer, would be a nationwide talent hunt, followed by a group of contestants studying at a music conservatory to hone their skills.

Like American Idol, High School Musical contestants will be eliminated each week until a winning performer is chosen. We're guessing Zac Efron won't be eligible.

Overall, the High School Musical franchise will reach $650 million in sales this year. High School Musical 3, the first film in the series to be released in theaters, is due out on October 24.

Joanne Borgella was one of four American Idol contestants eliminated last night, along with Amy Davis, Garrett Haley and Colton Berry.

Still, it's worth reporting that Borgella and season seven favorite David Archuleta actually have a connection to another institution almost as popular as Idol: High School Musical.

According to High School Musical star KayCee Stroh (a.k.a. "the pop and lock girl" in those movies) she and contestant Archuleta performed together at a Park City, Utah, benefit years ago.

David Archuleta and Garrett Haley performed together last night. Guess which one was voted off American Idol before the evening was over.

"I think I was about 18 and he was about 12," Stroh said at the American Idol Top 24 party on Thursday night in Hollywood. "Both of us are from Salt Lake City, and there was a benefit concert and the [organizer] needed young kids to be the backup singers for a gospel piece. I remember we were rehearsing one day and he had a solo part. I expected him to have this cute little boy voice."

As Stroh found out then - and Idol fans known now - this was anything but the case: "I was blown away! He packs such a powerful punch when he sings. I remember thinking instantly, ‘Boy, this one is going to be a star someday,'" she said.

Oddly enough, Stroh also models for Torrid, a hip plus-size clothing line. Another model with a past contract with that company? You guessed it: Borgella.

Will Ali Lohan soon be moving in on Zac Efron?

Don't worry, Vanessa Hudgens fans, we're solely talking about the fictional realm of High School Musical 3.

According to Marc Malkin of E! News, the younger sister of Lindsay Lohan might play a role in the third installment of the wildly popular High School Musical franchise.

All we know at the moment is that Ali would portray a spoiled student in the mold of Sharpay (Ashley Tisdale). Her rep confirmed almost as much, saying: "She is auditioning for it."

So, what do you think? Would Ali Lohan make a good addition to the cast of High School Musical?

Can you just not wait for more information regarding High School Musical 3?

We understand. So does star Corbin Bleu. He recently described the plot of this feature film as follows:

"It's [about] graduation, senior year, prom... all that goes into it. And there's going to be a school production as well. I have seen the first draft of the script, and [my character] Chad's got a lot to do.

I think the major thing for him in this movie is he's leaving this world of high school that he's been so attached to all these years �" he's going to be pulled out of his element �" and that is a bit of a hard transformation for him."

Bleu told TV Guide that he's already feeling the difference between the small-screen High School Musicals and the new motion picture, which will be the first in the franchise to be release in theaters.

"There's obviously a bigger budget and the grandeur is on a higher scale. I know it's felt in the music, from what we've heard, and I know once we start filming we'll see the difference there, too."

Here's the good news, High School Musical fans: the cast of your favorite TV movie really does get along well.

"High School Musical' is unlike anything. No one can fully understand. It's just all of us in a group having fun," Zac Efron recently told MTV. "We really became best friends during this project, the whole cast. It's like not even work. We just have the time of our lives out there."

Now, though, prepare yourselves for the awful news: High School Musical 3 will be the final performance for these stars together.

"This is going to be the farewell to the East High Wildcats for a while. Senior year, graduation, this movie is the climax, it's the third act, this is the legacy that we leave on East High," Efron said. "I think it's going to be a good way to go out with a bang."

Fortunately, we'll still be able to ogle Zac in upcoming movies such as Me and Orson Welles and Seventeen.

We've reported this before, but such great news is worth repeating.

It's now 100% official that the entire cast is coming back for High School Musical 3: Senior Year. Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, Corbin Bleu, Monique Coleman and Lucas Grabeel have all inked contracts to reprise their beloved roles in the franchise.

Tisdale says she looks forward to returning to East High set in Utah one last time.

"I'm excited," she said. "But it's going to be sad. It seems like it will be graduation and I'll be crying while we're filming."

Meanwhile, here are brief High School Musical spoilers about the plot of the film:

High school seniors Troy [Zac Efron] and Gabriella [Vanessa Hudgens] face the prospect of being separated from one another as they in different directions to college. Joined by the rest of the Wildcat crew, they stage an elaborate spring musical reflecting their experiences, hopes and fears about their future.

The film is scheduled for an October 24 release. Mark your calendars!