Disney and the NFL have confirmed a real-time, animated “alternate telecast” of Super Bowl LXI, set in the Star Wars galaxy, will stream live on Disney+ and the ESPN App (and air on Disney Channel and Disney XD) on February 14, 2027. According to the announcement, this animated version of the next Super Bowl will feature characters from “across the Lucasfilm franchise”, and it’s specifically noted Anthony Daniels would be returning to voice C-3PO.
Dubbed “Star Wars Funday Football”, the company notes this production will give “fans of all ages a new way to experience ESPN’s first-ever Super Bowl production.”
However, while Star Wars Funday Football will be the first animated alternate broadcast of a Super Bowl, it will otherwise be the fourth of its kind from ESPN, Disney, and the NFL (following the Sports Emmy Award-winning Toy Story Funday Football in 2023, The Simpsons Funday Football in 2024, and Monsters Funday Football in 2025).
The broadcasts are made possible via “data visualization technology” from Sony’s Beyond Sports, which converts real-time player tracking data into animation in real-time. If you haven’t seen it in action, it converts the spectacle of real human skill and athleticism into what looks like a licensed mobile game, only you can’t affect the outcome, and it goes for three hours.
With 2027 marking the 50th anniversary of Star Wars, Star Wars Funday Football will air just five days before a newly restored version of the original 1977 Star Wars returns to cinemas on February 19, 2027.
Luke Reilly is an award-winning journalist with 23 years of media experience across Official PlayStation Magazine, Australian 360, and IGN – which he joined in 2011. You can find him on Bluesky @mrlukereilly to ask him things about stuff.
