Star Wars Takes Over Super Bowl LXI With Animated Funday Football Telecast on February 14

Star Wars Funday Football, an animated alternate telecast of Super Bowl LXI set in the Star Wars galaxy, will air Sunday, February 14, 2027. ESPN, Lucasfilm, Disney and the NFL announced it, according to ESPN’s press release.

What Viewers Will See

The telecast will recreate every play in real time and turn the players into animated avatars. Star Wars characters will sub in at key moments, with Easter eggs throughout. Anthony Daniels returns to voice C-3PO, per Variety. It is the first animated alternate presentation of a Super Bowl and the fourth animated NFL altcast from ESPN, Disney and the NFL.

Disney’s announcement describes the presentation as a new way to experience ESPN’s first-ever Super Bowl production for fans of all ages, according to Blog Mickey, which adds that C-3PO is the only character the studio has named for the game so far. The announcement was made on October 19, per Youth Sports Business Report, and a teaser accompanied it, Bleeding Cool reports.

The Technology Behind the Animation

Sony’s Beyond Sports powers the animation, combining NFL Next Gen Stats tracking with Hawk-Eye optical tracking, per Laughing Place. Because those tracking systems capture where each player is on the field during live play, the animated version follows the real game as it unfolds rather than replaying it afterward. Trade site Sports Video Group notes that Beyond Sports has powered ESPN’s animated NFL alternate telecasts since the franchise debuted in 2023.

Where and How to Watch

It will stream live on Disney+ and the ESPN app and air on Disney Channel and Disney XD. Collider reports it will be available in more than 155 markets. The standard broadcast stays on ABC, ESPN and Disney+. Blog Mickey notes that Disney+ subscribers can pick either version, that ESPN’s Spanish-language telecast will be available on Disney+ and ESPN Deportes, and that a separate Spanish-language presentation will air on Univision. Fans outside the United States can watch the animated game as well, according to the same report.

Cord Cutters News lists Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, Lisa Salters and Laura Rutledge as the voices of the traditional presentation that Disney+ subscribers will also be able to stream. The game itself will be played at SoFi Stadium, according to the Greek outlet Mad.gr.

One Game, Many Broadcasts

The game is part of ESPN’s first-ever Super Bowl production, which includes Super Bowl LXI with Peyton and Eli on ESPN2 and Field Pass with The Pat McAfee Show on ESPNU. A Playbook stats telecast airs on NFL Network. Barrett Media describes the Star Wars version as the latest and final alt-cast in the lineup and observes that the biggest unknown is how so many different presentations will divide an audience that has traditionally had only one place to watch.

ESPN’s First Super Bowl

The animated game sits inside a larger story for Disney. Barrett Media describes the broadcast as the first Super Bowl in the history of ESPN and says the network’s owner, The Walt Disney Company, is going all in on the occasion. ESPN announced its other Super Bowl LXI options on October 11, according to the company’s own release as published by BroadwayWorld, and the Star Wars version followed about a week later as one of multiple ways to watch the game.

BroadwayWorld adds that all Disney+ subscribers in the United States can stream the traditional Super Bowl LXI presentation airing on ESPN and ABC, a detail that Cord Cutters News connects to Disney+ having been previously announced as a streaming home for the game. For viewers, the practical result is that a single Disney+ subscription can reach both the standard broadcast and the animated alternative.

C-3PO Returns, With a Franchise Veteran Behind the Voice

TheWrap points out that the telecast features characters from across the franchise, including original 1977 cast member Anthony Daniels reprising the role of C-3PO. Daniels has played the golden protocol droid since the first film, and the original film he appeared in returns to theaters five days after the game. Disney has not yet said which other characters will appear alongside him or what part they will play in the game.

Dark Horizons describes the plan as a real-time, animated telecast that recreates every play as it happens while turning the players on the field into avatars, and Digital Trends in Spanish notes that the technology draws on the NFL’s Next Gen Stats data and Hawk-Eye optical tracking. The studios say more details about the visual settings, commentators and characters will be shared as the game approaches.

Animated Football Has a Track Record

This is not the first time ESPN has animated a football game. WJLA notes that the last full animated broadcast aired in 2023 with the Atlanta Falcons and Jacksonville Jaguars matchup, and Youth Sports Business Report says the 2023 Toy Story edition earned three Sports Emmy Awards. Those earlier telecasts established the format that the Super Bowl version now extends to the league’s championship game.

A Date With a Second Anniversary

Five days later, on February 19, Lucasfilm releases a restored version of the original 1977 Star Wars in theaters for the franchise’s 50th anniversary. StarWars.com describes the telecast as arriving just days ahead of that restoration’s return to theaters, and its announcement ties the timing to the anniversary weekend of the original film’s premiere.

Darth Vader Comes to Monday Night

Visual settings, commentators and other characters will be announced closer to the game. Starting October 26, per The Hollywood Reporter, SC+ will also feature an animated Darth Vader interviewing a Monday Night Football player. Dexerto adds that the segments will air on Disney+ and describes the crossover as part of the wider collaboration between ESPN, Lucasfilm, Disney and the NFL that leads to the Super Bowl telecast.