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.
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.
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+. Sony’s Beyond Sports powers the animation, combining NFL Next Gen Stats tracking with Hawk-Eye optical tracking, per Laughing Place.
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. 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.
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.
- ESPN Press Room: ESPN, Lucasfilm and the NFL to put Super Bowl LXI in a galaxy far, far away
- Variety: 'Star Wars' Comes to 2027 Super Bowl With Animated 'Alterna-Cast'
- Collider: Star Wars Officially Takes Over Super Bowl LXI for 50th Anniversary
- The Hollywood Reporter: 'Star Wars' Super Bowl Altcast Set at Disney+
- Laughing Place: Super Bowl LXI Heads to a Galaxy Far, Far Away With Star Wars Funday Football