Michelle Yeoh joins Avatar sequels

Superstar actor Michelle Yeoh is heading to Pandora to join the Avatar sequels as a scientist named Dr. Karina Mogue. The Avatar sequels are now officially part of the Disney family now that the purchase of 21st Century Fox has been completed

“Michelle has always created unique and memorable characters,” said Avatar director James Cameron in a tweeted statement. “I look forward to working with her to do the same thing on the Avatar sequels.”

Yeoh is currently starring in the CBS All Access series Star Trek Discovery as Captain Philippa Georgiou. Her character has been announced as having its own spinoff series with her in the lead. She also appeared in last year’s big screen romantic comedy “Crazy Rich Asians,” which was a box office hit last August.

Most American audiences first met Yeoh in the James Bond film “Tomorrow Never Dies” or the groundbreaking martial arts film “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.” Known initially for her martial arts movies, Yeoh has also shown a wide range from drama to action and comedy.

In the Avatar sequels, she joins the follow ups to the 2009 original which still stands as the highest grossing movie of all time at $2.7 billion worldwide. The first of the four sequels will return most of the original stars, including Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana. Digital motion capture work has been mostly completed and now the production is doing some live action filming.

With Pandora – The World of Avatar opened at Disney’s Animal Kingdom and Disney now officially the owner of all 21st Century Fox titles as of last month, the Avatar franchise has the potential to be one of the most profitable in Disney’s library.

Photo courtesy of 21st Century Fox