ESPN Taps Marvel’s Vision to Boost ElClásico’s Debut on ABC

The Vision, the Marvel super-hero, must tackle two important missions on Sunday.

Not only does the character have a new streaming series on Disney+ that needs promotion, but he’s been tapped by Disney sibling ESPN to lend some pizzazz to Sunday’s telecast of ElClásico, the fierce soccer match-up between Barcelona and Real Madrid, which is being broadcast on ABC for the first time.

In a bid to get more people interested in the event, ESPN and Marvel Studios devised an intriguing collaboration that will include a 30-second promo voiced by Paul Bettany, the actor who has long played Vision in various Marvel films. A Q&A with the actor focused on soccer, has been distributed across ESPN’s FC social platforms, and a “motion poster” dropped on ESPN FC’s Instagram and TikTok Stories, as well as ESPN Deportes’ Instagram Story.

During pre-game coverage Sunday, a custom promo is scheduled to air in both ESPN’s English-language and Spanish-language coverage. ESPN FC’s X and Facebook accounts will share that vignette ahead of the match.

Other parts of the Disney empire were also tapped. “Live with Kelly and Mark” promoted the match during the week, as did several of ESPN’s studio program, including “SportsCenter.” ESPN also enlisted creators Devin Caherly and Dylan Acanfora to create content from Barcelona.

The event’s broadcast television debut in the U.S. starts 4 p.m. eastern on Sunday, October 2. Soccer greats including Lamine Yamal, Pedri, Kylian Mbappé, Jude Bellingham and Vinícius Júnior are expected to play. The telecast will also be available on ESPN+, ESPN Deportes and the ESPN App.