Star Wars Funday Football Animated Alt Telecast Set for Super Bowl LXI

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Posted in: ABC, Disney+, NFL, Sports, Super Bowl, TV | Tagged: star wars, Super Bowl LXI

Star Wars Funday Football Animated Alt Telecast Set for Super Bowl LXI

For Super Bowl LXI, ESPN, Lucasfilm, Disney & the NFL are going Star Wars Funday Football for their real-time, animated alternate telecast.

Published Tue, 20 Oct 2026 07:08:11 -0500
by Ray Flook
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Article Summary

  • Star Wars Funday Football will deliver a real-time animated alt telecast for Super Bowl LXI across ESPN, ABC, and Disney+.
  • ESPN, Lucasfilm, Disney, and the NFL are bringing the Super Bowl into the Star Wars galaxy with franchise characters.
  • Anthony Daniels returns as C-3PO, joining a Star Wars-themed broadcast designed to give fans of all ages a fresh view.
  • Using NFL Next Gen Stats and Sony Beyond Sports tech, Star Wars Funday Football will recreate every play live.

Sure, it worked great when Toy Story, The Simpsons, and Monsters, Inc. were brought into the mix. But for Super Bowl LXI, ESPN, Lucasfilm, Disney, and the NFL are looking to "a long time ago" and "a galaxy far, far away" for their real-time, animated alternate telecast. That's right, Star Wars Funday Football is set in the Star Wars galaxy and features characters from across the Lucasfilm franchise, including original 1977 cast member Anthony Daniels, who returns to voice C-3PO. Offering fans of all ages a new way to experience ESPN's first-ever Super Bowl production, Star Wars Funday Football will be presented alongside the traditional telecast with Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, Lisa Salters, and Laura Rutledge on ESPN, ABC, and Disney+ from SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. ESPN's Spanish-language telecast will be available on Disney+ and ESPN Deportes, with a separate Spanish-language presentation on Univision. As we get closer to the big game, more details about the Star Wars animated presentation will be announced – including visual settings, commentators, characters, and much more.

Image: Disney/ESPN

With Star Wars Funday Football set to stream live on Disney+ and the ESPN App and air on Disney Channel and Disney XD on Sunday, February 14th, 2027, here's a look at the official teaser that was released  – followed by more details directly from Disney on the tech and what viewers can expect:

  • 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 sub in during key moments and various Easter eggs appear throughout the game.
  • ESPN will produce Star Wars Funday Football with data visualization technology from Sony's Beyond Sports, which has enabled the animated gameplay of the Funday Football series since its inception. The technology transforms 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.

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