Lea Michele, Chris Colfer And More To Graduate From 'Glee'

By Simone Hilliard

Rumors have been circulating for weeks that key cast members in the popular Glee franchise would leave the show at the end of the upcoming third season. Lea Michele, Cory Monteith, and Chris Colfer are among confirmed characters scheduled to graduate from the beloved Fox musical hit.

Co-creator Ryan Murphy told The Hollywood Reporter in a statement:

"You can keep them on the show for six years and people will criticize you for not being realistic, or you can be really true to life and say when they started the show they were very clearly sophomores and they should graduate at the end of their senior year.”

According to Glee execs, planning for life after high school will be a major theme in the upcoming season.

Murphy added:

"I'm much more interested in Lea’s character --not so much on her relationship with Finn, but more on what her dreams are beyond high school and how she plans on getting them. That's what my senior year was about."

Reportedly, Michele and Colfer both agreed with creators decisions to leave the show; not that they had any choice. Murphy explained:

"We made that decision and I involved Chris and Lea and they thought that was a good idea. They both trust the writing and trust me and felt that it would be great to have an open and closed experience for them to go out while they were on top."

So, what will these Glee graduates do after McKinley High? A stint on a new tv series seems unlikely, but we wouldn't rule out a Glee spinoff! In addition to a bevy of movie offers for the three, we suspect Michele may return to her roots on the great white way, or record her highly anticipated solo album.

Michele told Us Weekly:

"I think it’s definitely in my future, but that's a really big commitment. Rachel's my baby, and making an album would be like taking care of another baby."

Labels have been lusting after Rachel Berry's chops since the series began, and while Lea has turned down offers in the past, a post Glee LP may be perfect timing.

What do you think the future holds for Michele, Colfer and Monteith? Sound off in the comments, or @MTV3.

Tags Chris Colfer, Cory Monteith, glee, Lea Michele, Rachel Berry, Ryan Murphy