High School Musical - High School Musical Heads To China

HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL is heading east - the hit teen franchise is to be re-made for the Chinese movie market.

The big screen musical series launched the careers of Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens, who played high-school sweethearts from rival social groups.

The franchise has been highly successful, with the films moving from TV to movie theatres with 2008's High School Musical 3: Senior Year, and a fourth film is already in production. The films also spawned a stage show, a best-selling soundtrack, a book series and video games.

And now Disney bosses are hoping to expand into the lucrative Asian market by remaking the original film with a Chinese cast and a new screenplay.

Jason Reed, general manager of Walt Disney Studios international production, tells Variety.com, "We wrote an original screenplay from the ground up. This is inspired by the spirit of the first one. The young stars are not as well known as they will be soon. The key for us was that they could sing and dance and whether they had the energy and charisma needed."

Disney High School Musical: China is shooting in Shanghai and is slated for a summer 2010 release.