Thor: Love and Thunder: Andrew Lloyd Webber Reacts to Phantom of the Opera Shoutout

By Jamie Jirak

Thor: Love and Thunder is currently playing in theatres, and the movie features the return of Tessa Thompson as King Valkyrie. The character has been busy running things on New Asgard since we saw her last in Avengers: Endgame, but that hasn't stopped her from learning about Earth's culture. In fact, it appears Valkyrie has become a bit of a musical fan. During the fight scene on New Asgard, the King battles Gorr's monsters while wearing a Phantom of the Opera t-shirt. Turns out, this stemmed from co-writer Jennifer Kaytin Robinson wearing a Phantom shirt around director Taika Waititi. Robinson shared the story on Twitter and got a reaction from Phantom's creator, Andrew Lloyd Webber. 

"Me. I am the reason. Wore my Phantom sweatshirt around Taika and he loved it. Mayes Rubio, living legend, recreated it. And JUST SO YOU KNOW- I got mine when I saw Phantom in middle school. It is an ~authentic~ theater nerd sweatshirt. This is my greatest contribution to the MCU," Robinson wrote. "The multiverse of t-shirts! Would Valkyrie approve, @TessaThompson_x @JennKaytin? – ALW," Webber replied. The iconic composer shared a video of himself playing some Phantom while wearing a Valkyrie shirt. You can check it out below:

In another post on Instagram, Webber shared his thanks to the MCU for giving his musical a shoutout.

"I am flattered that both @phantomopera & @catsthemusical were considered as some of #Valkyrie's passions. Congratulations & thank you to @jennkaytin, @tessamaethompson, @taikawaititi & all on Thor: Love and Thunder – I'd love to play some of the soundtrack for you all sometime!" Webber wrote. You can view that post below:

In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Thompson revealed which Thor: Love and Thunder moment she fought to keep in the film. Warning: Thor: Love and Thunder cameo spoilers ahead! Thor: Love and Thunder featured the return of Loki's play actors from Thor: Ragnarok. Sam Neil once again played Odin, Matt Damon played Loki, and Luke Hemsworth played Thor. This time, they were joined by Melissa McCarthy as Hela. The movie also features a funny scene in which Damon and Luke Hemsworth's characters approach King Valkyrie about working on yet another play. Turns out, the moment was almost cut.

"There was one cut where that bit went away and I was so sad, but then it came back and I was so happy. I was like, 'That has to be in the movie!'" Thompson told The Hollywood Reporter. "So I was very sad for a brief second when it wasn't there, but that was so fun. Having them around to explore the importance of theater and storytelling, as expressed in Asgardian culture, I just loved that."

Thor: Love and Thunder is now playing in theaters. 

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