High School Musical director Kenny Ortega is developing a Spanish-language musical Tv series, called Bandolero.

The filmmaker and choreographer, who also masterminded Michael Jackson's This is It concert film, is teaming up with Argentine producers Solange Keoleyan and Sebastian Parrotta, who created hit teen musical telenovela Violetta, for the new project.

Bandolero will centre on musically-inclined teens Renzo and Alma who find themselves entangled in a story of "forbidden love".

Ortega says, "As a proud Hispanic American, it is a thrill to be able to draw from my own life experiences as we embark on this international television project together.

"Developing projects that have a balance of strong Latin-based themes is always at the top of my wish list."