Warning! Minor spoilers ahead. If you have seen the latest outing for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, you know that there are plenty of Thor: Love and Thunder Easter eggs. From cameos to pop culture references, the Marvel movie is stacked with fun shout-outs.
However, one moment in the newest Thor movie, which involved a nod to the famous musical the Phantom of the Opera, particularly stood out and has been acknowledged by Andrew Lloyd Weber himself. In Thor: Love and Thunder, we see that the character Valkyrie – despite being a powerful hero – has become somewhat of a fan of show tunes. In fact, she proves to be such a musical enthusiast that she even battles Gorr’s monsters while wearing a Phantom of the Opera shirt during the fight scene on New Asgard.
According to a Twitter post from Thor 4 writer Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, this fun moment stemmed from her constantly wearing a Phantom shirt around Thor: Love and Thunder director Taika Waititi. Not only did Robinson’s post delight fans, but it even got the attention of the famous composer and Phantom of the Opera creator Andrew Lloyd Weber.
“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,” Robinson wrote. “It is an authentic theatre nerd sweatshirt. This is my greatest contribution to the MCU.”
Taking to Instagram, Weber responded to the MCU repping his Phantom merch in its latest film. Sharing a video of the Thor cast recalling Robinson’s story, the composer expressed his gratitude, as well as hinted that he is open to giving the crew of the film a concert of his work.
View this post on Instagram
“I am flattered that both Phantom of the Opera and Cats the Musical were considered as some of Valkyrie’s passions,” he wrote. “Congratulations and thank you to Jenn Kaytin, Tessa Thompson, Taika Waititi and all on Thor: Love and Thunder – I’d love to play some of the soundtrack for you all sometime!”
As many of us here at The Digital Fix are both fans of Marvel and musicals, we hope this may be the first step towards the studio’s first film in the genre. Who knows? Maybe Valkyrie will lead the way in the MCU’s debut show tune spin-off.
Thor: Love and Thunder is now playing in theatres.