The Marvel Cinematic Universe's upcoming Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings looks to be bringing something new into the Marvel world, and it is now being reported that martial arts superstar Michelle Yeoh is in early talks for a mystery role.

Following reports over the weekend, the news spread quickly that Michelle Yeoh is indeed in initial negotiations to join the movie, with her role allegedly being separate from the character she played briefly in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.

As you may well remember, Yeoh appeared previously in the MCU as a character named Aleta Ogord for a brief cameo in the James Gunn directed space-opera sequel. It is very unlikely that she would be appearing as the same character in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, with her martial arts background making her the perfect fit for several prominent roles in Shang-Chi's roster.

Of course, Michelle Yeoh would hardly be the first actor to take on several different roles within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with the likes of Gemma Chan appearing in both Captain Marvel and the upcoming The Eternals, Alfre Woodard appearing in both Captain America: Civil War and Netflix's Luke Cage, and Mahershala Ali who has also already appeared in Luke Cage but is now all set to play the MCU's resident vampire hunter in Blade.

Exactly who Michelle Yeoh will be playing in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings remains a closely guarded secret, but with such sheer talent on her side there is no doubt that whoever it is will be wonderfully brought to life by this highly accomplished actress. And accomplished is exactly what Yeoh's career is, with a back catalogue that boasts the likes of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Sunshine, Fearless and 2018's Crazy Rich Asians.

She recently went boldly where no man has gone before with a recurrent role in Star Trek: Discovery with a potential spin-off on the way, as well as several other high profile roles coming up including the long-awaited Avatar sequels.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings centres on the Marvel superhero named Shang-Chi, obviously, a character created by writer Steve Englehart and artist Jim Starlin back in the early 1970s. The character is often referred to as the "Master of Kung Fu", but in actual fact Shang-Chi is proficient in numerous styles of both armed and unarmed combat. The character later gained the ability the conjure countless duplicates of himself which led to him joining The Avengers.

The movie is set to begin production in Australia later this year, with Just Mercy and Short Term 12 director Destin Daniel Crettin at the helm. Starring as Shang-Chi is relatively unknown actor Simu Liu, as well as Awkwafina, and Ton Chiu-Wai Leung in supporting roles. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is set for release in February 2021. This comes to us from Comicbook.com.