Walt Disney Co.’s successful teenage franchise “High School Musical” is returning for a fourth time, but with a fresh cast of characters this time, the company announced on Tuesday.

 

“High School Musical 4” is expected to premiere on the Disney Channel as early as 2010, making a comeback to its original cable home after the third installment of the franchise swayed its way into theatres an onto big screens last year.

 

Disney Channel explained in a statement that the story would include a music and dance-packed love triangle, as well as a cross-town competition between imagined high schools and students in Albuquerque, N.M.

 

The film will introduce a new cast of characters after the fictional graduation of original stars Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens and Ashley Tisdale in 2008’s “High School Musical 3: Senior Year.”

 

The “High School Musical” franchise has proved to be a very productive worldwide project for Disney since the first television movie aired on the Disney Channel in January 2006.

 

The first couple of television productions have been watched by approximately 300 million viewers in over 100 nations, such as India, China and Russia. Moreover, they have generated a hit soundtrack album, a concert tour, as well as a huge range of toys, clothes and books.

 

“High School Musical 3: Senior Year,” the first product of the franchise to be made as a feature film, has brought in approximately $250 million at the global box office since its October 2008 release.

 

Most of the original cast announced last year that they would not come back if a fourth installment were created.