C-3PO and R2-D2 have crash-landed at Super Bowl LXI.
In a teaser ad released today, the droid counterparts arrive on a desert planet destined for a far, far away stadium, with new dialogue provided by Anthony Daniels returning to voice C-3PO.
On February 14, just days ahead of the 50th anniversary return to theaters of the Star Wars (1977) restoration, ESPN, Lucasfilm, Disney and the NFL will present a real-time, animated alternate telecast of Super Bowl LXI set in the Star Wars galaxy and featuring characters from across the franchise. Extending the Emmy-winning Funday Football brand to America’s biggest game, Star Wars Funday Football will stream live on Disney+ and the ESPN App, and air on Disney Channel and Disney XD on Sunday, February 14, 2027, giving fans of all ages a new way to experience ESPN’s first-ever Super Bowl production.
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.
Produced with data visualization technology from Sony’s Beyond Sports, which 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, 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.
Star Wars Funday Football will reach fans around the world, with expanded live international availability in markets including Latin America, the Caribbean, Australia and New Zealand, Canada (TSN+), the Netherlands, sub-Saharan Africa, Japan, Sweden, Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines. The animated game will also be available on demand on Disney+ shortly after the live telecast in these markets and additional regions, including the United Kingdom, France, Germany, South Korea and more, bringing total availability to more than 155 markets worldwide.
Star Wars Funday Football is the first animated alternate presentation of a Super Bowl matchup and the fourth NFL animated alternate game day telecast from ESPN, Disney and the NFL. Arriving just as Lucasfilm celebrates 50 years of Star Wars, the original 1977 version of the first film returns to theaters on Friday, February 19, including the film’s first-ever IMAX presentation in IMAX 70mm at select locations. The yearlong anniversary celebration will continue with Star Wars Celebration, April 1-4, at the Los Angeles Convention Center, and the release of Star Wars: Starfighter, the new film starring Ryan Gosling, in theaters on May 28, marking the 50th anniversary weekend of the original film’s premiere.
As Super Bowl LXI approaches, check back for more details about the Star Wars animated presentation, including visual settings, commentators, characters and more!
