Star Wars Nights at baseball games are actually nothing new, ranging from uniform changes to the tallest guy the team can find getting into a Chewie costume and throwing the first pitch. But Disney, being Disney, has decided to take that to a extreme and drag ESPN into it.
Hence, according to the Hollywood Reporter, as of tonight, Star Wars being shoved into nationally broadcast baseball games will officially be a thing. And it sounds almost as fun to watch as that stupid football robot Fox keeps trying to make a mascot.
The special Star Wars Night airing live from Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri, will feature movie-magic elements throughout the telecast, including music from the famous scores by composer John Williams, footage from the films and a baseball-themed scroll mimicking the iconic opening credits of the George Lucas classic.
Fans at the ballpark will also get to meet Star Wars characters in costume, and special segments will air during the ESPN broadcast throughout the game that feature creatures from the upcoming animated show Star Wars Rebels.
In other words, it’s typical Disney. Disney can be shockingly crass when it comes to marketing: They shoved an entire hour of ESPN highlights onto the Cinderella DVD under the pretext of those being “Cinderella moments in sports.”
This sounds like it’ll be a similar marketing kludge; somebody hits a home run, and Han will probably pop up telling him to blow this thing and let’s go home. It seems the more obnoxious bits are reserved for those watching at home, too, so if you’re a baseball fan, you’ve got that to look forward to.
The one upside is some six year old at the park is going to be overjoyed when he meets a local actor in a Chewie costume. And we suppose after the prequels, nothing can debase Star Wars further. But if they start CGI-ing Banthas into the outfield, we’re writing an angry letter.