A hundred years into Lagos’ future and we still have traffic jams: transnational media and the commodification of Afrofuturism in Disney’s Iwájú

This article examines Disney’s animated series Iwájú (2024), produced in collaboration with the pan-African studio Kugali Media, as a case study in transnational screen production and the global circulation of African futurities. Situated at the intersection of Afrofuturism and decolonial theory, the article argues that Iwájú exemplifies the tensions inherent in platform-era cultural production, where culturally specific narratives are developed within, and mediated through, transnational corporate infrastructures. While the series foregrounds a technologically advanced Lagos and incorporates localised visual, linguistic, and cultural elements, it remains embedded in the industrial logics of global streaming, branding, and intellectual property consolidation. Through a combined analysis of the series’ narrative and aesthetic strategies, alongside its production context and reception, the article explores how African cultural forms are translated into globally legible and marketable content. It contends that the collaboration between Disney and Kugali Media, frequently framed as a milestone in inclusive storytelling, is more productively understood as a site of negotiation shaped by asymmetrical power relations. In this context, Afrofuturism emerges as both an enabling and constrained mode of representation, offering visibility while simultaneously reproducing the conditions of its commodification within transnational media systems.