Your Super Bowl Players Are About to Become ‘Star Wars’ Avatars as Disney’s Super Bowl Telecast is Officially Happening
Football’s biggest night has always been a spectacle, but even the loudest halftime show can’t match the pull of a lightsaber. Disney has spent months stacking alternate ways to watch the game, and the latest one is the most out of this world. The ‘Star Wars’ Super Bowl telecast is officially happening.
Super Bowl LXI is already a milestone for Disney. It will be ESPN’s first-ever Super Bowl production and the first on ABC since 2006, played at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. Alongside the traditional broadcast with Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, Lisa Salters and Laura Rutledge, ESPN is offering a menu of alternate options, from ‘Peyton and Eli’ on ESPN2 to a Pat McAfee-led ‘Field Pass’ on ESPNU.
Now, the biggest curveball has arrived. ESPN, Lucasfilm, Disney and the NFL have announced ‘Star Wars Funday Football,’ a real-time animated telecast of Super Bowl LXI set in the ‘Star Wars’ galaxy. It will stream live on Disney+ and the ESPN App and air on Disney Channel and Disney XD on Sunday, February 14, 2027, according to ESPN’s announcement.
The telecast uses NFL player-tracking technology to recreate every play in real time, turning the athletes on the field into animated avatars. ‘Star Wars’ characters from across the Lucasfilm franchise will step into the action at key moments, with Easter eggs sprinkled throughout. Original 1977 cast member Anthony Daniels is returning to voice C-3PO.
The tech behind it is Sony’s Beyond Sports, which combines the NFL’s Next Gen Stats with optical tracking from Sony’s Hawk-Eye Innovations. That data is what lets the live game become animation as it happens.
This marks the first animated alternate presentation of a Super Bowl. It’s also the fourth NFL animated alternate telecast from ESPN, Disney and the league, following ‘Toy Story Funday Football’ in October 2023, ‘The Simpsons Funday Football’ in December 2024 and ‘Monsters Funday Football’ in December 2025.
Those earlier editions built a family-friendly alternative to the standard broadcast, and Disney is clearly betting the format can scale up to the biggest game of the year. The setting, additional characters and animated broadcast team are still to be revealed, and the commentators for the ‘Star Wars’ version will be announced later.
In a galaxy far, far away … 🛰️ Star Wars Funday Football is coming to Super Bowl LXI! 📺 Feb. 14 | Disney+, Disney Channel, Disney XD and the ESPN App https://t.co/Mtz5jNc15M
— ESPN (@espn) October 20, 2026
The announcement doubles as a celebration of ‘Star Wars’ turning 50. A newly restored version of the original film returns to theaters on February 19, 2027, five days after the Super Bowl. Disney is also using the game as a platform for the franchise’s anniversary, tying together its sports, streaming and family entertainment arms.
The crossover starts well before kickoff. Beginning Tuesday, October 20, ‘SC+’, ESPN’s daily ‘SportsCenter’ show on Disney+, will feature ‘Star Wars’-themed ‘Hyperspace Highlights’ drawn from ‘Monday Night Football’. On Monday, October 26, an animated Darth Vader will interview a player from that night’s game.
Disney is aiming for a wide audience. Live and on-demand availability combined will extend to more than 155 markets, though that doesn’t mean every market will carry the game live. Expanded live availability includes Latin America, the Caribbean, Australia, New Zealand and Canada through TSN+, plus territories in Europe, Africa and Asia.
On-demand availability on Disney+ will follow shortly after in places including the United Kingdom, France, Germany and South Korea. Disney+ will also stream the traditional Super Bowl LXI broadcast, giving subscribers a choice between the real thing and the galactic version.
For fans who would rather swap helmets for Stormtrooper armor, this is a rare chance to see a real NFL game reimagined in real time. For Disney, it’s a way to turn one game into an event that reaches kids, families and longtime ‘Star Wars’ fans at once. The company has been building toward this moment all year, from themed merchandise to NFL-team pairings with Disney, Marvel, ‘Star Wars’ and Pixar characters.
The risk is that purists may not want an animated droid commenting on a Super Bowl. But with the traditional telecast still available, nobody has to pick a side of the Force unless they want to.
Will You Watch the Super Bowl in the Star Wars Galaxy?
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