‘High School Musical’ Star Lucas Grabeel ‘Was in Tears’ Over Ryan’s Storyline in ‘HSMTMTS’ Season 4 (Exclusive)

High School Musical: The Musical: The Series is writing new endgames for some beloved High School Musical characters.

The show’s fourth and final season, which premieres on Aug. 9 on Disney+, follows the fictional filming of High School Musical 4: The Reunion where Corbin Bleu (Chad), Monique Coleman (Taylor), Lucas Grabeel (Ryan) and Kaycee Stroh (Martha) reprise their characters from the original movies as they attend their high school reunion. 

In a clip shared on July 25, fans got the first look at their onscreen reunion, which includes a pivotal moment for Grabeel’s Ryan Evans as it’s confirmed that his character is gay and partnered with Pentatonix singer Scott Hoying as they share a kiss. 

Though Ryan’s sexuality was never directly addressed in the original films, director Kenny Ortega confirmed years later that he was gay and “probably came out in college.” 

‘HSMTMTS’ First Look: Cast Tease ‘Full-Circle’ Season 4 with OG Wildcats (Exclusive)

Fred Hayes/Disney

Speaking with PEOPLE exclusively about the new season, series creator Tim Federle says it was super important for him to include that moment in the script as the fictional film reflects how these characters have grown since the third and final High School Musical film was released in 2008. 

Corbin Bleu on His ‘HSM’ Family and Returning to East High for ‘HSMTMTS’ Season 4: ‘I Started Crying’

“The stories had a discreet ending with High School Musical 3, but presumably these people went on and lived other lives,” he says. “Those movies were like mosquitoes in a perfect Jurassic Park simulation. They were perfect for their moment. They lit the country and the world on fire with musical theater, thank goodness for them. But to do it now, I wanted to bring some of these stories into a slightly more modernized context.” 

“Part of that for me felt like it would be this beautiful thing that is not so far removed from reality, that Ryan would’ve gotten through high school and presumably went to college and discovered the side of himself that would end up being life-changing,” he continues. “The more depictions in media of anyone who feels othered as now living a happy healthy life is powerful.” 

Federle adds that Grabeel himself was super moved about bringing that representation to the screen.

“He has lived with the legacy now for 15 years, and Lucas was in tears on set when we shot that little moment, that kiss,” Federle recalls. “He said, ‘I think this is going to mean so much to people who grew up with this movie and always wondered about Ryan, and this is a type of representation we can really bring into the future.’”

As for that Hoying cameo, Federle says the Pentatonix singer, who recently got married to his longtime boyfriend Mark Manio, was immediately on board the second he asked him to appear on the show.

“Scott is a friend from the biz,” he explains. “We met on a project and we’ve just kept in touch. Then we possibly have an acapella movie in the works for Disney,” he adds, quipping, “Exclusive. No one else knows that.” 

“I texted Scott and was like, ‘Crazy question, are you a fan of High School Musical?’” he recalls of the text exchange. “He wrote back and he was like, ‘Don’t be insulting. Of course.’ I was like, ‘So you know Lucas Grabeel who plays Ryan?’ He’s like, ‘Duh.’ I was like, ‘Would you want to come in for a day and play his husband?’ Scott was like, ‘Say less.’”

“Scott was super easy and onboard and was so gracious and so fun,” Federle adds. 

Fred Hayes/Disney

When it came to writing the fictional High School Musical 4, Federle adds that he was especially careful about making sure the plot was authentic to the original franchise.

“I always felt like I was being handed a franchise that I wanted to put away either as intact as when I found it, or at least different with a new generation twist,” Federle says. “I really wanted the endorsement of the OGs and they were so cool to play.”

“I always felt like the hook of our show was going to be, it’s like the original, but it’s brand new, come see what we’ve done with High School Musical, come on back to East High,” he continues. “But then I always hoped that the new generation of fans would go along with Big Red (Larry Saperstein) and Ashlyn (Julia Lester) and Ricky (Joshua Bassett) and Gina (Sofia Wylie) and all of these news stories. And so beautifully, I think that’s happened. That’s what the season is too. It’s a big High School Musical 4 hook, but ultimately it’s about the next generation.”

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Season 4 of HSMTMTS premieres Aug. 9 on Disney+.

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education