Zac Efron, Kenny Ortega revisit 'High School Musical' after 2 decades

The ensemble cast and director of High School Musical are revisiting the franchise 20 years later.

For those unaware, the 2006 American musical television film directed by Kenny Ortega starred top-tier actors such as Zac Efron, Ashley Tisdale, Vanessa Hudgens, Corbin Bleu, and others.

In a talk with PEOPLE magazine, Ortega looked back at the franchise in the print edition, on newsstands now, and shared, “When we were shooting the big finale [“We’re All In This Together’].

She added, “I took my eyes off the monitor and just took in the scope of the whole room and I thought, ‘My God, if Disney Marketing does the job that we're doing in this room today, we have a juggernaut.’”

High School Musical became a massive hit after its premiere on the Disney Channel on January 20, 2006. It garnered 7.7 million viewers in its premiere broadcast and the soundtrack stayed number one for more than 100 weeks on the Billboard 200.

It also led to merchandise, a successful concert tour, a TV series, two sequel films, and helped budding actors to land more lucrative opportunities.

Efron, who played Troy Bolton in the film, told the same outlet, “I was so young when we made High School Musical, and it was just a really great experience."

He added, "We were having fun, learning as we went, and honestly just enjoying every moment together. I never could’ve imagined it would still mean so much to people 20 years later, or that a whole new generation would connect with it, and I’m grateful for that.”

It is pertinent to mention that Zac Efron was 18-year-old when he played Bolton in High School Musical.