Black Widow actor Olivier Richters claims to have played the first mutant character in the MCU after his appearance in the film. Richters is a Dutch bodybuilder and describes himself as the tallest actor in the world, standing at an imposing 7'2 ft (2.18m) and weighs 342lb (155kg). He is currently set to appear in The King's Man later this year alongside Ralph Fiennes and Harris Dickinson, as well as in the highly-anticipated Borderlands adaptation as the bandit leader Krom opposite Cate Blanchett's Lilith and Kevin Hart's Roland.
In Black Widow, Richters appears in a scene where Scarlett Johansson's Natasha and Florence Pugh's Yelena break their adoptive father, David Harbour's Alexei/Red Guardian, out of prison. Alexei is challenged to an arm-wrestling contest by Richters' character, with Alexei initially appearing fearful of the imposing giant before beating him easily. It's a small appearance but, as one might expect from the MCU, even the smallest character can have a long comics history.
Many online had speculated that Richters' character was a reference to Ursa Major, and the actor confirmed this rumor on his Instagram by posting a picture of him alongside his co-star Tony Montalbano, a former world bodybuilding champion. Richters also added that his character represents "the first mutant (X-Men) to appear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe." While Ursa isn't necessarily a well-known character in the comics, Richters also offered a brief history of the character describing him as "part of the Winter Guard, noted for being "Russia's answer to the Avengers". His power transforms him into an incredible bear, transcending The Hulk in size." Richters' full post can be seen below:
Richters appears to have been overjoyed at this revelation, writing that he "let some tears in [his] hotel room, because [his] movie dream became true: being [an] official comic super hero". The actor also added that he hopes the character is able to return in the future. Considering David Harbour's enthusiasm to return as Red Guardian at some point in the future, it would certainly make sense to bring in additional members of the Winter Guard like Ursa Major. And since Pugh is being set up to step into Johannsson's shoes as Black Widow going forward, it's entirely possible we may see her leading a version of the team in a potential sequel.
While Richters' enthusiasm about playing the MCU's first Mutant is commendable, his assertion comes with a caveat. Both Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch — portrayed by Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Elizabeth Olsen in the MCU — were originally considered mutants in Marvel Comics. However, it should be noted that they are not considered as such in the MCU, with their powers coming about as a result of experiments with the Tesseract. Furthermore, both Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver's statuses in the comics were changed a few years ago, at a time when Fox still held the rights to the X-Men, in order to ensure they tie more neatly into the MCU. With this in mind, Richters claim proves correct for the most part as the production team confirmed Ursa's mutant status to the actor.
Richters' revelation is certainly an interesting one with significant implications for the MCU. Fans have long wondered how and when Marvel Studios would introduce the X-Men and mutants to the MCU ever since the Disney-Fox merger. While it's only a minor appearance, it does beg the question of whether or not fans can expect to see similar appearances throughout the rest of Phase 4 now that Black Widow has set a precedent, especially with the world-shaking events set in motion by Loki's finale. Only time will tell.
Source: Olivier Richters / Instagram
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