Joss Whedon’s S.H.I.E.L.D. Adds Ming-Na To Pilot Cast

Joss Whedon’s S.H.I.E.L.D. has added a new cast member: ER‘s Ming-Na.

Deadline reports that Ming-Na will play Agent Melinda May (listed as Althea Rice, aka, “The Calvary,” in the cast list), who is described as soulful, slightly damaged, an ace pilot, and a weapons expert “who can — and has — gone beyond the call of duty.”

The ABC pilot has been the talk of tinsel town lately, particularly in light of the announcement that fan-favorite Clark Gregg has signed on to reprise his role of Agent Coulson in the Whedon pilot. How this will go down, particularly in light of Coulson’s death in The Avengers, remains to be seen, but the announcement got people talking about S.H.I.E.L.D. again.

ComicBookResources reports that ABC has placed S.H.I.E.L.D in its fall 2013 lineup, and the show is said to revolve around the spy agency that has had a noted presence in the Marvel Cinematic Universe since Iron Man in 2008. Joss Whedon, director of The Avengers and cult-hit TV creative genius, will co-write the pilot with frequent collaborators Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen, who will also serve as executive producers and showrunners alongside Jeffrey Bell.

Whedon himself has said that the show will operate within the greater Marvel Cinematic Universe, but that it has to work apart from the film’s central characters. “It’s gotta be a show that works for people who haven’t seen the Marvel movies,” Whedon said. “It will please Marvel fans, I think.”

In addition to her role in ER, Ming-Na is known for roles in The Joy Luck Club, Street Fighter, and Stargate Universe. She has also lent her voice to Mulan, The Batman and Kingdom Hearts II.

Are you excited for S.H.I.E.L.D.?