Black Widow Actor Says He's Officially the First Mutant to Appear in the MCU

The entire Marvel Cinematic Universe fandom rejoiced this week as Ryan Reynolds finally made his official debut as Deadpool in a promotional video for his upcoming film Free Guy. For years now, there's been a lot of talk as to how the X-Men will be incorporated into the franchise now that Marvel Studios finally owns the rights to them.

Sure, we've had Wanda and Pietro Maximoff in the MCU roster since 2015 but considering Scarlet Witch is still "unofficially" labeled as a mutant in the franchise and her arc currently in the process of potentially getting retconned, it's safe to conclude that Deadpool is indeed the first mutant to make his official MCU crossover.

However, prior to Wade Wilson breaking the internet along with Thor's trusty ally Korg, Marvel Studios' first Phase Four film Black Widow had subtly included a mutant cameo most of you may have failed to notice. During the scene where Alexei Shostakov aka Red Guardian is seen competing in an arm-wrestling contest with his fellow Seventh Circle Prison inmates, one of his challengers happens to be Mikhail Uriokovitch Ursus aka Ursa Major, a mutant who is part of the Winter Guard aka Russia's version of the Avengers.

Also Read:Ryan Reynolds Celebrates Deadpool's Internet-Breaking MCU Debut

Naturally, fans failed to take notice of the character considering Marvel Studios presented Ursa as a human and not as an actual bear. But actor Olivier Richters is out to remind everyone that he is in fact the first official mutant to appear in the MCU. Taking to Instagram, the actor gave fans a little history lesson about the character and hopes Marvel will bring back the character in a future project.

We still don't know what the future holds for the Red Guardian after Black Widow but the generally positive reception to David Harbour's character was enough indicator that Kevin Feige and his crew will bring him back eventually, along with his wife Melina Vostokoff. As for Ursa, following the destruction of the Seventh Circle Prison, the chances of him returning appear to be slim as of the moment but hey, if anyone can survive a fatal explosion, it's definitely a mutant like him.

Black Widow is now screening in cinemas and is also available via Disney+'s Premier Access.