Just Announced: High School Musical 4!

In a RollingScone exclusive, we have uncovered details for the newest chapter in the High School Musical saga, entitled Freddy vs. High School Musical. In a bold move, the incredibly successful High School Musical franchise will go the same route as a the Freddie, Jason and Alien series and spin off into a vs. direction in an attempt to freshen the franchise. Although some may argue that the HSM series is still incredibly successful, this pro-active approach ensures the long term viability of the series.

Director Eli Roth had optioned the picture in 2008 shortly after High School Musical 3 hit theatres, from a script he wrote himself. The story featured Freddy hacking and slashing his way through the dreams of Troy, Gabriella and the rest of the HSM crew. However, Eli and Disney could not come to terms on budget and compensation so the production was halted while the movie was shopped around. In March of 2009, Sam Raimi, fresh off "Drag me to Hell," decided to pick up the movie, along with a revised script. The new script from the horror master spun around the Freddy formula into a scathing satire of the current tween culture. In the new script, it is Freddy who finds his dreams haunted by the cheerful PG-rated songs of Troy, Gabriella and Sharpay. Everywhere Freddy goes, from supermarkets to the mall, all he sees and hears are the spirited, inspirational song and dance of the most polite, least sexually active group of teenagers ever. Freddy, so distraught with the way of the world decides to go into his own dreams and kill himself, rather than face another day of being haunted by Zac Effron and Vanessa Hudgens.

In Freddy vs. HSM, Freddy Krueger will be played by Jackie Earle Haley, Freddy's dad will be played by former Freddy star Robert Englund. They will be joined by the entire HSM cast along with a special appearance by Richard Dreyfus as the cranky dean and Michael Clarke Duncan as the janitor. The movie is scheduled to be shot this fall and released in the fall of 2011.