Kung-Fu Pandaren

Behold, the Dragon Warrior!

Or, rather, the Pandaren Brewmaster, which we might be seeing in World of Warcraft after all. Let's break it down.

The Pandaren is a race of sentient pandas, created by Blizzard as an April Fool's joke and added as bonus units in a mission in Warcraft 3. Other than a vanity pet in WoW, we haven't seen these guys since, but they've been steadily getting their lore together. And, the players love them. I mean, martial arts pandas? That was to be expected.

And, Blizzard has just registered "Mists of Pandaria"!

"The trademark, filed late last week, is registered to cover “computer game software” and “entertainment services,” suggesting that Blizzard aren’t simply using the title for a spin off product like a book. It could be part of an upcoming patch, but if the plan is to add the land of Pandaria, then that would likely require something bigger." (PC Gamer)

What this means? It's all conjecture for now, but personally I assume this:

a) A new continent/area will be introduced, much in the same way the first two expansions introduced Outland and Northrend respectively.

b) The Pandaren will be introduced as NPCs, in the same way the Kaluak/Vrykul/Broken were. The first expansion introduced two races, as did the third, while the second introduced a new class. With that track record, we're much more likely to get a new class in the fourth rather than races. Monk, anyone?

Thoughts?