diff --git a/ReactAndroid/src/main/java/com/facebook/react/bridge/queue/MessageQueueThreadImpl.java b/ReactAndroid/src/main/java/com/facebook/react/bridge/queue/MessageQueueThreadImpl.java
index 48328da25..c0961b0c6 100644
--- a/ReactAndroid/src/main/java/com/facebook/react/bridge/queue/MessageQueueThreadImpl.java
+++ b/ReactAndroid/src/main/java/com/facebook/react/bridge/queue/MessageQueueThreadImpl.java
@@ -10,10 +10,8 @@
 package com.facebook.react.bridge.queue;
 
 import java.util.concurrent.Callable;
-import java.util.concurrent.ExecutionException;
 import java.util.concurrent.Future;
 import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;
-import java.util.concurrent.TimeoutException;
 
 import android.os.Looper;
 
@@ -21,6 +19,7 @@ import com.facebook.common.logging.FLog;
 import com.facebook.proguard.annotations.DoNotStrip;
 import com.facebook.react.bridge.AssertionException;
 import com.facebook.react.bridge.SoftAssertions;
+import com.facebook.react.bridge.UiThreadUtil;
 import com.facebook.react.common.ReactConstants;
 import com.facebook.react.common.futures.SimpleSettableFuture;
 
@@ -28,7 +27,7 @@ import com.facebook.react.common.futures.SimpleSettableFuture;
  * Encapsulates a Thread that has a {@link Looper} running on it that can accept Runnables.
  */
 @DoNotStrip
-/* package */ class MessageQueueThreadImpl implements MessageQueueThread {
+public class MessageQueueThreadImpl implements MessageQueueThread {
 
   private final String mName;
   private final Looper mLooper;
@@ -142,7 +141,25 @@ import com.facebook.react.common.futures.SimpleSettableFuture;
       String name,
       QueueThreadExceptionHandler exceptionHandler) {
     Looper mainLooper = Looper.getMainLooper();
-    return new MessageQueueThreadImpl(name, mainLooper, exceptionHandler);
+    final MessageQueueThreadImpl mqt =
+        new MessageQueueThreadImpl(name, mainLooper, exceptionHandler);
+
+    // Ensure that the MQT is registered by the time this method returns
+    if (UiThreadUtil.isOnUiThread()) {
+      MessageQueueThreadRegistry.register(mqt);
+    } else {
+      final SimpleSettableFuture<Void> registrationFuture = new SimpleSettableFuture<>();
+      UiThreadUtil.runOnUiThread(
+          new Runnable() {
+            @Override
+            public void run() {
+              MessageQueueThreadRegistry.register(mqt);
+              registrationFuture.set(null);
+            }
+          });
+      registrationFuture.getOrThrow(5000, TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS);
+    }
+    return mqt;
   }
 
   /**
@@ -150,30 +167,29 @@ import com.facebook.react.common.futures.SimpleSettableFuture;
    * running on it. Give it a name for easier debugging. When this method exits, the new
    * MessageQueueThreadImpl is ready to receive events.
    */
-  private static MessageQueueThreadImpl startNewBackgroundThread(
-      String name,
+  public static MessageQueueThreadImpl startNewBackgroundThread(
+      final String name,
       QueueThreadExceptionHandler exceptionHandler) {
-    final SimpleSettableFuture<Looper> simpleSettableFuture = new SimpleSettableFuture<>();
+    final SimpleSettableFuture<Looper> looperFuture = new SimpleSettableFuture<>();
+    final SimpleSettableFuture<MessageQueueThread> mqtFuture = new SimpleSettableFuture<>();
     Thread bgThread = new Thread(
         new Runnable() {
           @Override
           public void run() {
             Looper.prepare();
 
-            simpleSettableFuture.set(Looper.myLooper());
+            looperFuture.set(Looper.myLooper());
+            MessageQueueThreadRegistry.register(mqtFuture.getOrThrow(5000, TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS));
 
             Looper.loop();
           }
         }, "mqt_" + name);
     bgThread.start();
 
-    try {
-      return new MessageQueueThreadImpl(
-          name,
-          simpleSettableFuture.get(5000, TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS),
-          exceptionHandler);
-    } catch (InterruptedException | ExecutionException | TimeoutException e) {
-      throw new RuntimeException(e);
-    }
+    Looper myLooper = looperFuture.getOrThrow(5000, TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS);
+    MessageQueueThreadImpl mqt = new MessageQueueThreadImpl(name, myLooper, exceptionHandler);
+    mqtFuture.set(mqt);
+
+    return mqt;
   }
 }
diff --git a/ReactAndroid/src/main/java/com/facebook/react/bridge/queue/MessageQueueThreadRegistry.java b/ReactAndroid/src/main/java/com/facebook/react/bridge/queue/MessageQueueThreadRegistry.java
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..b924fd88b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ReactAndroid/src/main/java/com/facebook/react/bridge/queue/MessageQueueThreadRegistry.java
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+/**
+ * Copyright (c) 2015-present, Facebook, Inc.
+ * All rights reserved.
+ *
+ * This source code is licensed under the BSD-style license found in the
+ * LICENSE file in the root directory of this source tree. An additional grant
+ * of patent rights can be found in the PATENTS file in the same directory.
+ */
+
+package com.facebook.react.bridge.queue;
+
+import com.facebook.infer.annotation.Assertions;
+import com.facebook.proguard.annotations.DoNotStrip;
+
+/**
+ * A utility for getting the MessageQueueThread for the current thread. Once there is only one
+ * implementation of MessageQueueThread, this should move to that class.
+ */
+@DoNotStrip
+public class MessageQueueThreadRegistry {
+
+  private static ThreadLocal<MessageQueueThread> sMyMessageQueueThread = new ThreadLocal<>();
+
+  /*package*/ static void register(MessageQueueThread mqt) {
+    mqt.assertIsOnThread();
+    sMyMessageQueueThread.set(mqt);
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * @return the MessageQueueThread that owns the current Thread.
+   */
+  public static MessageQueueThread myMessageQueueThread() {
+    return Assertions.assertNotNull(
+        sMyMessageQueueThread.get(),
+        "This thread doesn't have a MessageQueueThread registered to it!");
+  }
+}
+
diff --git a/ReactAndroid/src/main/java/com/facebook/react/common/futures/SimpleSettableFuture.java b/ReactAndroid/src/main/java/com/facebook/react/common/futures/SimpleSettableFuture.java
index 23619eccf..b2809ae37 100644
--- a/ReactAndroid/src/main/java/com/facebook/react/common/futures/SimpleSettableFuture.java
+++ b/ReactAndroid/src/main/java/com/facebook/react/common/futures/SimpleSettableFuture.java
@@ -91,6 +91,18 @@ public class SimpleSettableFuture<T> implements Future<T> {
     return mResult;
   }
 
+  /**
+   * Convenience wrapper for {@link #get(long, TimeUnit)} that re-throws get()'s Exceptions as
+   * RuntimeExceptions.
+   */
+  public @Nullable T getOrThrow(long timeout, TimeUnit unit) {
+    try {
+      return get(timeout, unit);
+    } catch (InterruptedException | ExecutionException | TimeoutException e) {
+      throw new RuntimeException(e);
+    }
+  }
+
   private void checkNotSet() {
     if (mReadyLatch.getCount() == 0) {
       throw new RuntimeException("Result has already been set!");