Mediating otherness: The Afrofuturist planetary posthuman in Black Panther.

This article examines how the 2018 film *Black Panther*, directed by Ryan Coogler, functions as an Afrofuturist science fiction work that embodies the concept of the planetary posthuman—a subjectivity that situates the self relationally within an interconnected planet rather than in opposition to others. Drawing on critical posthumanist theory and the concept of planetarity, the article analyzes how *Black Panther* addresses cultural discourses on race, technology, and otherness by portraying its protagonist, T’Challa, as a cyborg figure who challenges neoliberal global capitalism and binary oppositions such as global north/south and self/other. The film’s Afrofuturist framework reimagines Blackness and Black relationships with technology through a planetary lens, advocating ethical relationality and envisioning a utopian Black future that connects African diasporic experiences with the African continent. Ultimately, *Black Panther* is presented as a significant cultural intervention that decolonizes narratives of Black subjectivity and contributes to broader discussions on the (post)human condition and the future of humanity.