Will Olivia Rodrigo return in ‘High School Musical’ season 4?

The acting and singing prodigy Olivia Rodrigo recently ventured back to music after two years with the release of “Vampire,” the lead single of her upcoming sophomore album titled Guts. Now that High School Musical is gearing up for a fourth season, will the 20-year-old star also make a comeback to television?

An official featurette of the cast of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series discussing the new season was released earlier today, on Aug. 3, by Disney Plus. While it excited everyone for the upcoming season, fans speculated about Olivia Rodrigo’s return since she was nowhere to be seen in the video. Her acclaimed character Nini Salazar-Roberts made her last appearance in a recurring role in HSMTMTS season 3, which was a step down from her starring role in seasons 1 and 2.

Will Olivia Rodrigo be in HSMTMTS season 4?

Olivia Rodrigo’s final appearance on the show was in the season 3 finale, where it was revealed that Nini is moving from East High to the west coast to finish her senior year. Heading to Los Angeles to pursue her dream career as a singer-songwriter, her departure was marked with a poignant scene as she put her key into the ignition and drove away, according to series creator and executive producer Tim Ferderle.

In an interview with Entertainment Tonight before season 3 debuted, Ferderle spoke about the future of Rodrigo’s character and said, “I think she’s ready to explore the world outside the halls of East High.” Explaining why the team let Rodrigo exit the show, he elaborated,

“Olivia herself was having such a monumental explosion in the music industry that it felt like the right thing to, frankly, work with Olivia to say, ‘How do we get you out there into the world with us taking a little bit more of a backseat?’ Which we were all proud to do to support her.”

Season 3 of the High School Musical series was thus an opportunity for the creator to give Rodrigo a proper send-off as she seemingly started getting busy with award shows, music festivals, and tours and couldn’t be as present in the show. He also set up the stage for “other characters to really step into the fray and the spotlight” for upcoming seasons.

So, Olivia Rodrigo has permanently left the show in order to concentrate on her musical career. Although the news may be disappointing for fans of Nini Salazar, there is still a lot to look forward to in HSMTMTS season 4, which premieres on Aug. 9 exclusively on Disney Plus.