Is Olivia Rodrigo coming back for HSMTMTS season 3?

High School Musical: The Musical: The Series was greenlit for a third season in September and since the announcement, there’s been a question of whether or not Olivia Rodrigo will be in the new season.

The actress turned pop princess has been scorching up the charts with her hit album, Sour, and her star is on quite the meteoric rise. There’s no question Rodrigo is talented. She showed off her singing and acting chops to classic effect on High School Musical: The Musical: The Series as Nini Salazar-Roberts.

In fact, much like Nini, Rodrigo has taken a different path than her co-stars. It’s one that could see fans saying goodbye to this original cast member sooner than they could have anticipated back when they first fell in love with the series.

Here’s what we know!

Will Olivia Rodrigo be in High School Musical: The Musical: The Series season 3?

Update: May 21, 2022 – According to the official cast list released by Disney+, Olivia Rodrigo will be in High School Musical: The Musical: The Series season 3 as a guest star. She’ll reprisal her role as Nini.

So far there’s be no official word on Rodrigo bowing out from High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. Back in May she told The Guardian that she still had two more years left on her contract with the show.

However, given the success of her debut album and Rodrigo’s own desire to focus primarily on her music, it shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise if Nini becomes more of a recurring character.

When asked about Rodrigo coming back full-time as Nini, creator and showrunner Tim Federle told Entertainment Weekly the following:

"I don’t have a specific plan for that because there’s actor contract stuff I can’t even touch — it’s not for me to make a ruling on. What I will say is, it’s hard to imagine High School Musical without Olivia, but Olivia is also experiencing a level of success and fame and opportunity that I would never want to stand in the way of."

Considering Nini ended the season ready to work with Jamie, Gina’s brother who’s a music producer, Rodrigo appearing in a reduced capacity could work especially given season 3’s premise. The Wildcats are headed to sleepaway camp for summer break, so it’s the perfect time for Rodrigo to take a step back.

An official announcement regarding returning cast members and additions to the series has yet to be released. We’ll keep you posted on more High School Musical: The Musical: The Series season 3 news including whether or not Rodrigo does make a series exit. Stay tuned to Hidden Remote!