High School Musical fans were overjoyed when the original cast recently reunited on the Disney Family Singalong. During the special, Vanessa Hudgens, Corbin Bleu, Ashley Tisdale, Monique Coleman, Lucas Grabeel and other members of the cast joined together to perform “We’re All In This Together.” However, franchise star Zac Efron didn’t participate in the singalong and instead, introduced the performance with a pre-filmed video.
Many were disappointed that Zac Efron didn’t actually lend his voice to the song, and they quickly took to the internet to express their feelings. But it now appears Efron had a good reason for not joining in.
High School Musical star Monique Coleman revealed that Zac Efron was unable to participate in the actual singalong due to limited Wi-Fi capabilities. Coleman told TMZ that Efron is apparently still in Papua New Guinea where he’s filming his new Quibi series, Killing Zac Efron. And because the star didn’t join the High School Musical reunion until the last minute, he was more than likely unable to make arrangements for better internet access.
While it would’ve been fun to see Zac Efron channel Troy Bolton for just a little while, his reason for opting out is understandable. A significant amount of work had to have gone into making that singalong possible, especially when you consider that each member joined in remotely. It’s very likely that Efron wanted the show to go off without a hitch by not causing any potential technical issues.
From 2006 to 2008, Zac Efron starred alongside his castmates in three High School Musical films. While the first two premiered as Disney Channel Original Movies, the third was released theatrically under Walt Disney Pictures.
Most people surely know that High School Musical served as a springboard for Zac Efron’s career. While the actor hasn’t expressed many negative feelings about his time working on the Disney Channel film series, he has somewhat distanced himself from the series. This has only been helped by the fact that he's taken on varying projects in the years that followed.
Some of his former castmates, on the other hand, have remained a bit closer to the franchise that launched them into the public eye. A few years after the main series ended, Ashley Tisdale reprised her role as Sharpay Evans for a spinoff film.
More recently, Lucas Grabeel appeared as himself in an episode of Disney+’s High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. Series alum Kaycee Stroh also guest-starred on the show as an original character.
Zac Efron may not be as close to the franchise as some of his colleagues, but it doesn’t mean he still doesn’t have love for the franchise. The fact that he was still willing to provide an introduction for the singalong, even when he couldn’t sing himself, is pretty firm evidence of that.
Those looking to revisit the High School Musical trilogy and check out High School Musical: The Musical: The Series can stream them all on Disney+.
