Next World of Warcraft Expansion Trademarked by Blizzard?

Every World of Warcraft expansion adds a ton of content to the world of Azeroth, giving dedicated adventurers new challenges to conquer and new locations to explore. Burning Crusade opened up the doors to a whole new dimension. Wrath of the Lich King allowed players to visit a new continent and settle a score from way back in the Warcraft canon. Cataclysm changed the face of the world forever. Now, a new trademark filing by Blizzard hints at the next expansion scheduled to update World of Warcraft, and it suggests some surprising new content for the veteran MMORPG.

MMO Champion is reporting that on July 28th, Blizzard filed a trademark for Mists of Pandaria, which applies to "computer game software." The process through which Blizzard has secured the name lines up exactly with the way they've secured the titles for previous WoW expansions, which has MMO experts wondering whether this might be a full-fledged expansion rather than just a patch or side project.

The Pandaren, for whom this expansion is apparently named, are one of Azeroth's sillier races--they're kung-fu panda people in a world of brutal conflict and epic fantasy. Though they're fan favorites for many and longtime members of the Warcraft canon (appearing with a playable hero in the Frozen Throne expansion for Warcraft III), the Pandaren may have to win over lore diehards, who are keen to keep the pristine feel of Warcraft's fantasy story intact.

No word yet on what precisely this portends, but we'll keep you posted, Ologists! Would you be down for playable Pandaren, or do you think they're much too ridiculous?