‘High School Musical’ star Corbin Bleu: Reboot hit me ‘like a ton of bricks’

nypost.com:

“High School Musical: The Musical: The Series” — and he’s ecstatic to be back.While the 33-year-old isn’t starring as his character Chad Danforth, he’s actually playing a very exaggerated version of himself.Bleu recently opened up to People about how coming on the show felt like coming home “in many ways.” “I really went on an emotional roller coaster,” the “Jump In” star said. “When this season was coming to an end, I had a moment where I was just watching all of them perform, and it just hit me.”“HSMTMTS” currently stars a slew of young actors including Olivia Rodrigo, Joshua Bassett, Sofia Wylie and Matt Cornett.“It hit me like a ton of bricks where I’m seeing the impact that the original movies had,” the Brooklyn native added. “The fact that it even paved the way for this to take place, and the fact that they’re carrying the torch in such a beautiful way.”The “High School Musical” series began in 2006, and it subsequently released two sequels in subsequent years.

A spinoff film, titled “Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure,” premiered in 2011.“The fact that I got to be a part of it again, that I got to actually live in the joy and the magic that is ‘High School Musical’ again, I wasn’t expecting it,” Bleu said.“Hannah Montana” star Jason Earles as well as Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Jojo Siwa are also making guest appearances in the upcoming season.Bleu recalled working on the 2006 pilot episode of “Hannah Montana” before doing “High School Musical,” adding that he knew Earles, 45, way before meeting his “HSM” cast.“It was just like seeing a long-lost brother.

We had so much fun together being able to poke at what the old Disney days were for us, too. Especially the fact that I’m playing myself and he’s not playing himself,”.