Ashley Tisdale's New Role

Ashley Tisdale is ready to graduate high school . . . High School Musical, that is. Ashley's first post-HSM role is in the comedy, They Came from Upstairs, where she will play the character of Bethany Pearson.

"It's an action comedy, and I get to have my first action scene," she told MTV News. "It was a lot of fun, and I want to do more action scenes. It was very exciting."

"I got to beat the crap out of an alien. I look kind of crazy looking at the [footage] without the CGI there," she continued. "We have some great comedians, and Kevin Nealon, who always cracked us up on set."

Tisdale isn't sure if she would return to East High. "We don't really know anything about 'HSM 4,' actually," she said. "It's flattering to leave the door open for a character, so that's really awesome."

"I'm just kind of looking forward to other projects as well," Ashley told MTV News. "It's something that we've always loved to do, but I have a film coming out in January that is completely opposite, and [we're looking forward to] growing in our careers and looking ahead."

When one class graduates, another generation gets to go to high school and get a big chance at stardom. Tisdale has a lot of hope for the future of HSM now that she's leaving it in the new class's very capable hands.

"I think they're great. We really embraced them," she said of the new kids.

Ashley praises the new cast members; she says that no one can ever take the place of the original characters.

"As much as I feel like they'll fill our shoes, I don't feel like they'll fill our characters' shoes. There's only one Gabriella, one Troy, one Sharpay. [But] they're really great kids, and they're just as passionate about the movie as we are."