How do you watch the DCEU movies in order? DC once ruled the silver screen with iconic heroes like Batman and Superman but things have gotten a little messy in recent years, meaning the timeline of this franchise takes some explaining.
During the last decade, Superman and Batman starred in a whole bunch of superhero movies, and were then joined by the rest of the Justice League, and other comic book characters like The Suicide Squad and Black Adam. However, the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) has fallen apart, ready to be rebuilt as the DCU by James Gunn and Peter Safran with their new venture, Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters.
So how do you watch all of the DC movies in order? We’ve done our best to break down this chaotic cinematic universe for you.
How do you watch the DC movies in order?
- Man of Steel
- Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
- Suicide Squad
- Wonder Woman
- Justice League
- Aquaman
- Shazam!
- Joker (sort of)
- Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)
- Wonder Woman 1984
- Zack Snyder’s Justice League
- The Suicide Squad
- The Batman (sort of)
- Black Adam
- Shazam! Fury of the Gods
The pre-history of the DCEU
First, there was Superman and the Mole Men, a theatrically released pilot for ’50s TV series Adventures of Superman. Batman was a big-screen spin-off of the campy 60s TV series. Superman The Movie was a breath-taking start for Christopher Reeve’s four-movie stint as the Man of Steel, which also produced the spin-off Supergirl.
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There were two Swamp Thing movies, for lovers of rubber-suit monster movies. Michael Keaton‘s Batman spawned four Batman movies that Joel Schumacher killed off with Batman and Robin. Steel, starring basketball player Shaquille O’Neal in dodgy armour, and Catwoman, which won Halle Berry a Golden Raspberry, both vied for the title of worst superhero movie ever made.
That is, until Green Lantern came out – a movie that even its own star, Ryan Reynolds, poked fun at in Deadpool. Around this time, there was also Constantine, but that movie’s star Keanu Reeves bore little semblance to his supernatural comic counterpart.
Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy remains one of the greatest superhero film series ever made. Unfortunately, Bryan Singer’s Superman Returns failed to fly, despite a fantastic Christopher Reeve tribute act from Brandon Routh. Watchmen (2009) was an elegant, well-received adaptation of the seminal graphic novel, while supernatural western Jonah Hex was the very definition of forgettable.
In between all those were a handful of movies based on DC imprints you may not have even realised were comic adaptations, such as Road To Perdition, A History of Violence, and V for Vendetta.
Man Of Steel (2013)
Following an aborted attempt early in the 2000s to bring DC superheroes together in a Justice League film, DC finally started building a full-on MCU-style shared universe with Man of Steel (2013), a reboot of the Superman origin story with Henry Cavill in the cape. The original plan was to centre the DCEU around five films directed by Watchmen-helmer Zack Snyder.
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His vision for a darker, grittier, less-quippy universe than the one built in MCU movies was embraced enthusiastically by some, but scenes such as the mass destruction of Metropolis in a fight between Zod and Superman, with little thought for human collateral damage, sat uneasily with others. However, there was no denying that Snyder had a knack for producing mythic, iconic images and his Superman movie was a relative success.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)
With the announcement of Batman v Superman at San Diego Comic-Con 2013, already the DCEU appeared to be ploughing its own furrow instead of aping the MCU – its second film would be a crossover. This seemed like a sensible move, but was it just an attempt to get to Justice League as fast as possible?
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Dawn introduced Ben Affleck as a Dark Knight with a real hump about Superman going about his business unchecked. It also debuted Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman in a substantial support role, and the rest of the future Leaguers in a series of glorified cameos.
The film also saw Batman and Superman stop mid-fight to chat about their mums having the same name, which… divided opinions. The film suffered from studio interference, with scenes cut that left character motivations unclear. It seemed Warner Bros. was beginning to have artistic differences with Snyder, and unfortunately, that rift would only widen.
Suicide Squad (2016)
After Superman’s death in Dawn of Justice, the US government (rather unfeasibly) recruits a bunch of imprisoned supervillains – including Deadshot (Will Smith), Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), and Killer Croc (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje) – to take down the Enchantress (Cara Delevingne) who’s threatening to wipe out humanity.
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It’s a crazy, free-forming, acquired taste of a film that, while still dark, feels worlds away from Snyder’s universe stylistically. But it clearly is part of the same world, with Affleck’s Batman and Ezra Miller’s The Flash making cameos.
Suicide Squad also featured Jared Leto as a new iteration in a long line of Joker actors. There were clearly plans for this incarnation of the Clown Prince of Crime to have a further role in the DCEU. However, Leto’s take on the character was not popular, and so far his only (brief) reappearance has been in the Snyder Cut of Justice League.
Wonder Woman (2017)
One of the most well-received DCEU films so far, Wonder Woman also beat Marvel as the first female-led superhero film. An origin story set during WW1, it links to the DCEU continuity thanks to a brief, present-day framing device, with Bruce sending Diana a photograph that sparks off her war-time memories.
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Other than that, Wonder Woman is a marvellously entertaining stand-alone movie that treats its iconic central character with reverence and charm.
Justice League (2017)
If you’re looking for where the wheels come off, it’s right here. Snyder originally envisaged Justice League as an Avengers: Infinity War/Endgame two-movie affair. Warner Bros. wasn’t convinced though, perhaps after Batman v Superman’s less-than-spectacular box office.
So, when Snyder left the project for personal reasons after shooting the majority of the film, the movie was taken in a new direction. Avengers director Joss Whedon was brought in to film new scenes that would lighten the tone and enable the story to be told in one film.
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Vast swathes of footage and subplots bit the dust, along with almost all plot coherence. The resulting cut-and-shut film was released to lukewarm reviews, at best. It also ruined Whedon’s reputation; he made few friends among the cast, who eventually became very vocal about his alleged bullying. Was this the final nail for the DCEU?
Aquaman (2018)
Well, no. Because Aquaman turned out to be a fine movie, albeit one that was happy to copy the formula we’ve seen throughout the MCU timeline. Starring Jason Momoa as Aquaman, and directed by horror movie veteran James Wan, it was also happy to ignore established DCEU lore – it dumped the underwater air bubbles that Atlanteans had to use to talk to each other as seen in Justice League.
Shazam! (2019)
Shazam! is about as far away from Snyder’s vision of the DCEU as it’s possible to imagine, yet it’s been one of the shared universe’s most enthusiastically embraced films. A family-friendly feel-good fantasy movie, it’s the story of a young boy who, after meeting an ancient wizard, is given the ability to turn into an adult superhero when he says, “Shazam!” The fun and charm (and this film oozes fun and charm) comes from Zachary Levi’s performance as the adult-sized superhero acting like a wide-eyed teenage boy.
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There are few links to the wider DCEU, and it’s difficult to imagine Levi’s Shazam! in a scene with Affleck’s Batman. At one point Cavill was to have made an appearance as Superman, but sadly that never panned out.
Joker (2019)
If Shazam! felt too silly to fit in the Snyderverse, Joker is the opposite extreme – it feels too emotionally raw. Unsurprisingly, the DCEU powers-that-be never considered it part of the shared universe. Its edgy portrayal of a mentally ill, social misfit, who dreams of being a stand-up comedian, and who may evolve into the murderous Joker (by the end, it’s cleverly left open to interpretation) is the antithesis of what most people would imagine when they think of a comic book movie.
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Birds of Prey (And The Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) (2020)
Birds of Prey is a quasi-sequel to Suicide Squad, with Margot Robbie back in the role of Harley Quinn for a gonzo tale of female empowerment. While getting over her break-up with the Joker, she pretty much accidentally forms an all-female super-team (including Black Canary, the Huntress, and cop Renee Montoya) to face off against psychopathic crime boss Black Mask. Shot in a fast-edited, ludicrous style, the film feels like the mutant offspring of Tank Girl. Not to everyone’s taste, but custom-built for cultdom.
Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)
Another standalone period piece with even less connection to Justice League films than the first Wonder Woman. A gaudy ‘80s movie romp involving a Dream Stone, magic wishes, and a geeky geologist becoming the supervillain Cheetah.
Tonally it often has echoes of Richard Donner’s Superman The Movie. Silly, sure, but a cynicism-free effort and huge fun, with some charming human stories at its heart. While it pleased critics, some fans weren’t happy with its excesses.
Justice League: The Snyder Cut (2021)
Power to the people! Incensed at what Warners and Whedon did to Snyder’s vision of Justice League, fans embarked on an internet campaign using the hashtag #releasethesnydercut. Astonishingly, the campaign worked. Sort of. Snyder was allowed to reassemble his footage as a four-hour internet streaming movie, premiering on streaming service HBO Max in the US.
The result was definitely more coherent, and a fan pleaser, with extended backstories and tons of previously excised cameos reinstated, including The Flash’s girlfriend Iris West, DC villain Darkseid, several Green Lanterns, and Martian Manhunter in his Martian guise at last.
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It played perfectly to the gallery – which was, after all, the intention – but for people not into superhero movies, it seemed to be everything that turned them off about the genre: pompous, overblown and low on wit. So, streaming was its perfect home, where those that wanted the DCEU to be like this all along (and plenty did) could embrace it.
The Suicide Squad (2021)
James Gunn of Guardians of the Galaxy fame was brought in to work his Guardians magic on the DCEU’s premiere anti-villain team, The Suicide Squad. Robbie and Joel Kinnaman are back as Harley Quinn and Rick Flagg, joined by Idris Elba‘s Bloodsport, John Cena’s Peacemaker, Daniela Melchior’s Ratcatcher 2, Sylvester Stallone’s King Shark, David Dastmalchian’s Polka-Dot Man, and more.
This new, fresh-faced Task Force X is sent to destroy Project Starfish, a mission that, of course, gets messier than anyone planned. Gunn’s irreverent humour and propensity for violence are on full display, showing a gorier, more playful side to DC’s universe than previously seen.
The Batman (2022)
Similar to Joker, this superhero detective movie is not technically part of the wider universe of the DCEU, and establishes Robert Pattinson’s Batman as his own entity. And, as good as Affleck was as the Caped Crusader, we have to say, we’re very glad Pattinson has been able to leave his own mark.
Matt Reeves’ gritty Batman movie has no ties or crossovers with the rest of the DCEU, and the filmmaker has clearly stated that it is not part of the shared universe. But, for all intents and purposes, if you’re exploring DC movies, you simply must watch The Batman – mainly because it’s just a very, very good movie!
Black Adam (2022)
After more than a decade stuck in development hell, Dwayne Johnson finally got to bring Black Adam to the big screen. Sadly, if we’re being honest, it wasn’t really worth the wait. Check out our Black Adam review to find out why.
While the Dwayne Johnson movie came with a lot of hype, it’s had a disappointing box office run so far and the chances of a Black Adam 2 are all but over. Looks like the hierarchy of power in the DCEU hasn’t changed, after all.
Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023)
After a long wait, Shazam 2 was released in March 2023 with muted box office returns but generally favourable reviews and audience reactions — we called the mythical movie watchable, but never exciting in our Shazam 2 review.
While there were some fun Shazam 2 Easter eggs and a lot to praise, the lacklustre performance is likely sending Shazam and his lovable adoptive siblings to the already crowded DCEU graveyard, unless Gunn and Safran take some pity.
When is the next DCEU movie?
The Flash movie release date is June 16, 2023, and the Aquaman 2 release date is set for December 25, 2023.
Beyond that, it’s a very exciting but confusing time for DC fans. James Gunn and Peter Safran have been put in charge of the DC Film Division at Warner Bros and are looking to put their own stamp on things. Let’s be honest, the whole thing needed a clean-up, and they certainly appear to be doing just that with their plans.
We already know that any plans for a Wonder Woman 3 are indefinitely on hold, Black Adam 2 has a slim chance, and the dreams of a Man of Steel 2 are over already.
Beyond this, we have new movies on the way with the likes of Superman Legacy, The Authority, The Brave and the Bold, The Batman 2, Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, and Swamp Thing.
What are the upcoming DCU movies with confirmed release dates?
- The Flash (June 23, 2023)
- Blue Beetle (August 18, 2023)
- Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (December 25, 2023)
- Superman Legacy (July 11, 2025)
- The Batman 2 (October 3, 2025)
We’ll be keeping this list updated when more is revealed. For more DC Fun, here’s how to watch the Arrowverse in order. If you like to speculate, though, check out our guide on Justice League 2.
