Black Widow actor says he plays the first mutant in the MCU

Scarlett Johansson in Black Widow (2021)

(Image credit: Disney/Marvel)

X marks the spot? Black Widow actor Olivier Richters has put Marvel fans on high alert – by saying his cameo character is "the first mutant" in the MCU.

Richters plays Ursa/Big Bear, the giant prisoner who has his arm broken by David Harbour's Red Guardian during the Black Widow prison scene. Ursa is, according to Richters on Instagram, Ursa Major.

"After two years I can finally tell who my character is: Ursa Major: the first mutant (X-Men) to appear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe," Richters said.

Feige told io9 in 2019 that they're currently working through story plans for another five years – which didn't factor in the X-Men at the time. "It’s all just beginning and the five-year plan that we’ve been working on, we were working on before any of [the Fox merger] was set. So really, it's much more for us, less about specifics of when and where [the X-Men will appear] right now."

Plans, of course, change. Mutants can be retconned in or, in Black Widow's case, added in as treats and breadcrumbs for fans to follow. No official word from Marvel yet, but we might just have our first mutant roaming around in the MCU. That's an exciting proposition and one that will undoubtedly get fans talking.

For more on the MCU's future, check out our guide to Marvel Phase 4. There's also our breakdown of how the Black Widow post-credits scene affects one of Marvel’s next small screen adventures.

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