Zac Efron Cast in "The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud"

The High School Musical star is interested in starring in movies that are non-musical. After Efron dropped out of the Footloose remake, he has been cast in the film, The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud, according to Variety magazine. The film is based on the book by Ben Sherwood about Charlie, a cemetery caretaker who feels responsible for the death of his brother, Sam, who died 13 years earlier in a car crash. Now Charlie sees Sam's ghost in the cemetery where he was buried.

The film will be directed by Burr Steers and production is expected to begin in July as the script is being completed and negotiations are still underway with Efron. Steers also directed Efron in his upcoming film, 17 Again, that will be released next month.

As Efron is expanding his acting talent away from musicals, he can also be seen in films that take on a more serious tone, like Me and Orson Welles, that comes out later this year.