ESPN, Lucasfilm, Disney and the NFL will present an animated alternate telecast of Super Bowl LXI set in the “Star Wars” galaxy and featuring characters from across the franchise, including original 1977 cast member Anthony Daniels reprising his role as C-3PO.
The upcoming telecast, dubbed “Star Wars Funday Football,” will stream live on Disney+ and the ESPN App, as well as air on Disney Channel and Disney XD on Feb. 14, 2027. The telecast will give fans of all ages a new way to experience ESPN’s Super Bowl production.
What does this “alterna-cast” mean for the big game? “The Star Wars animated telecast will recreate every play of Super Bowl LXI in real time, transforming players on the field into animated avatars, while Star Wars characters join the action subbing in during key moments and various Easter eggs appearing throughout the game,” per an announcement from the NFL.
ESPN’s “Star Wars Funday Football” will be produced with data visualization technology from Sony’s Beyond Sports, which will transform live gameplay into animation in real time by combining player tracking data from the NFL’s Next Gen Stats and Sony’s Hawk-Eye Innovations optical tracking.
ESPN teased what’s to come for the telecast with a social media video Monday evening, which showed C-3PO and R2-D2 discussing their plans for the upcoming Super Bowl. Watch the clip below.
The “Star Wars” alternate telecast is one of multiple options for watching Super Bowl LXI that ESPN, in conjunction with the NFL, will provide for fans across platforms.
Nonetheless, the “Star Wars Funday Football” marks the first animated alternate presentation of a Super Bowl. (Though, it is the fourth NFL animated alternate telecast from ESPN, Disney and the NFL.)
