| DC Universe Animated Original Movie | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Years | 2007–present |
| Miscellaneous | |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Home Entertainment[a] |
| Country | United States |
TheDC Universe Animated Original Movies (DCUAOM; also known asDC Universe Original Movies orDC Universe Movies orDC Animated Movies) are a series of Americandirect-to-videosuperhero animated films based onDC Comics characters and stories. From 2007 to 2022, films were produced primarily byWarner Bros. Animation but subsequently fell underDC Studios. Many films are stand-alone projects that are either adaptations of popular works or original stories.
From 2013 to 2024, theDC Animated Movie Universe was a subset of this series. The first story arc featured several films that took place in a shared universe, influenced predominantly by "The New 52". Following the first arc's conclusion withJustice League Dark: Apokolips War (2020), the "Tomorrowverse" series was launched beginning withSuperman: Man of Tomorrow that same year and ended with a trilogy,Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths (2024). As of 2024, the DCUAOM line released 60 films that made a total of $257 million in sales in the United States and Canada, an average of $5.4 million per film.[1]
Unlike earlier animated DC films (most of which also involvedBruce Timm and were part of theDC Animated Universe), the films in this line are aimed at a more adult audience, often containing profane language, stronger violence, sexual scenes, and more mature themes. The art styles for the films are also generally more realistically proportionate. The majority of the films are rated PG-13 by theMPAA exceptAll-Star Superman andGreen Lantern: Emerald Knights, which are rated PG, andBatman: The Killing Joke,Justice League Dark,Batman: Gotham by Gaslight,Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay,Justice League Dark: Apokolips War,Batman: Soul of the Dragon,Batman: The Long Halloween, Part Two,Injustice,Justice League: Warworld, andWatchmen, which are rated R. Many of the films are adapted from stories originally featured in DC print comics and graphic novels. As of 2024[update], 60 feature films and fourteen short films have been released.[citation needed]
In terms of continuity, the films are usually stand-alone, with exceptions beingSuperman/Batman: Public Enemies and its sequelSuperman/Batman: Apocalypse,Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths and its sequelJustice League: Doom, theDC Animated Movie Universe and its "Tomorrowverse" arc.[citation needed]
From 2007 to 2015, most of the films were voice-directed byAndrea Romano, the last one beingJustice League: Gods and Monsters. Then from 2016 to 2024, duties were handed to Wes Gleason, starting withBatman: Bad Blood up until theJustice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths trilogy.[citation needed]
The films are generally released direct-to-video, butBatman: The Killing Joke,Batman and Harley Quinn,The Death of Superman andReign of the Supermen were also given limited releases in theaters.[2]
| No | Title | Release date | Notes | Included in | Collection |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Spectre | February 23, 2010 | Featuring theJim Corrigan version of theSpectre (Gary Cole). The short has Det. Jim Corrigan investigating the murder of a high-end movie executive, ultimately becoming the Spectre to hunt down his killers. The short features supporting cast membersAlyssa Milano,Jeff Bennett,Rob Paulsen andJon Polito. | Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths | DC Showcase Original Shorts Collection |
| 2 | Jonah Hex | July 27, 2010 | FeaturingJonah Hex (Thomas Jane). Set in theOld West, the short follows Hex as he faces a ruthlessswindler to retrieve the body of anoutlaw. The short features supporting cast membersLinda Hamilton,Jason Marsden,Michael Rooker, andMichelle Trachtenberg.[9] | Batman: Under the Red Hood | |
| 3 | Green Arrow | September 28, 2010 | FeaturingGreen Arrow (Neal McDonough). The short followsOliver Queen, who is waiting for his girlfriend at the airport. Ultimately, he must become Green Arrow to foil an assassination plot that sees a young princess become the target of several assailants. The short features supporting cast membersMalcolm McDowell asMerlyn,Steve Blum asCount Vertigo,Grey DeLisle reprising her role asBlack Canary fromBatman: The Brave and the Bold,John DiMaggio andAriel Winter.[10][11][12] | Superman/Batman: Apocalypse | |
| 4 | Superman/Shazam!: The Return of Black Adam | November 9, 2010 | FeaturingSuperman andCaptain Marvel. It featuresGeorge Newbern andJerry O'Connell reprising their roles of Superman and Captain Marvel fromJustice League Unlimited, as well as featuringZach Callison as Billy Batson,James Garner asShazam,Kevin Michael Richardson as MisterTawky Tawny,Arnold Vosloo asBlack Adam,Josh Keaton andDanica McKellar.[13][14] The short film sees a young orphan being targeted by an otherworldly figure. He ultimately discovers an ancient wizard who gives him the ability to transform into a powerful hero, thus allowing him to team up with Superman to properly fight back. The short is 24 minutes. | DC Showcase Original Shorts Collection | |
| 5 | Catwoman | October 18, 2011 | FeaturingCatwoman in a continuation of her storyline inBatman: Year One. The short featuresEliza Dushku reprising her role as Catwoman,Liliana Mumy as Holly Robinson andJohn DiMaggio as Rough Cut.[15] The film also starsKevin Michael Richardson,Cree Summer andTara Strong. The short was directed and produced byLauren Montgomery and written byPaul Dini. The short sees Selina Kyle confronting an illegal diamond trafficking operation that has also resulted in the disappearance of several women. A special feature presentation was shown at theNew York Comic Con. | Batman: Year One | |
| 6 | Sgt. Rock | August 6, 2019 | FeaturingKarl Urban voicingthe eponymous character. The short follows the title character, a worn-out veteran, who suddenly finds himself leading a platoon oflegendary monsters against an army of Nazi zombies.Keith Ferguson,William Salyers, andAudrey Wasilewski also star.[16] | Batman: Hush | DC Showcase Animated Shorts – Batman: Death in the Family |
| 7 | Death | October 22, 2019 | FeaturingJamie Chung asthe title character. The short follows Death as she meets a down-on-his-luck artist named Vincent (Leonardo Nam) to help him make peace with his inner demons.[16] | Wonder Woman: Bloodlines | |
| 8 | The Phantom Stranger | March 17, 2020 | StarringPeter Serafinowicz as thePhantom Stranger. In the 1970s, a young adult named Marcie, along with her friends, attend a party at an abandoned mansion hosted by the enigmatic Seth (Michael Rosenbaum). However, when weird things start to happen, thePhantom Stranger must save her. Supporting cast includes Natalie Lander,Grey Griffin, andRoger Craig Smith.[16] | Superman: Red Son | |
| 9 | Adam Strange | May 19, 2020 | StarringCharlie Weber asthe titular hero. The short sees Strange living in an asteroid mining colony with its population seeing him as an interplanetary derelict. He reveals his true nature by saving them from alien insects, while his origin story is revealed in flashbacks.Roger R. Cross,Kimberly Brooks,Ray Chase, andFred Tatasciore also star. Butch Lukic confirmed in 2022 that the short is part of Tomorrowverse, it shows the backstory of Adam Strange featured inGreen Lantern: Beware My Power.[17] | Justice League Dark: Apokolips War | |
| 10 | Batman: Death in the Family | October 13, 2020 | An interactive, long-form animated short that is based onthe comic storyline of the same name byJim Starlin andJim Aparo, and is a sequel toBatman: Under the Red Hood. Reprising their roles areBruce Greenwood (asBatman),Vincent Martella (youngJason Todd),John DiMaggio (Joker) andGary Cole (Commissioner James Gordon), respectively. Cole also provides the voice forTwo-Face. Additionally,Zehra Fazal joins the cast asTalia al Ghul.[16][18] | DC Showcase Animated Shorts – Batman: Death in the Family | |
| 11 | Kamandi: The Last Boy on Earth! | April 27, 2021 | StarringCameron Monaghan asthe titular hero. The short that is based onKamandi #29 follows Kamandi and his friends Prince Tuftan (Steve Blum) of the Tiger Kingdom and nuclear man Ben Boxer (Armen Taylor) as they are kidnapped by a gorilla cult led by Golgan (also voiced by Blum) dedicated to finding the reincarnation of their godThe Mighty One. From there, they're forced into a series of harrowing challenges alongside their representative Zuma (Adam Gifford) that serve to prove their belief.[19][20] Jeremy Adams confirmed in 2022 that the short is part of the Tomorrowverse, and connects withJustice Society: World War II.[21] | Justice Society: World War II | DC Showcase Animated Shorts – Constantine: The House of Mystery |
| 12 | The Losers | June 22, 2021 | The short tells the story of thetitular team consisting ofWorld War II outcasts Captain William Storm (Dean Winters), Johnny Cloud (Martin Sensmeier), Henry "Mile a Minute" Jones (Eugene Byrd), Gunner (Dave B. Mitchell), and Sarge (also voiced by Mitchell), as they find themselves marooned onDinosaur Island and they work with Fan Long (Ming-Na Wen) to rescue the scientists that were studying the space-time anomaly there. | Batman: The Long Halloween, Part One | |
| 13 | Blue Beetle | July 27, 2021 | StarringMatt Lanter as thetitular hero. The short, in a parody of the 1967Spider-Man animated series, features Blue Beetle collaborating withCaptain Atom (Jeff Bennett),Nightshade (Ashly Burch), andQuestion (David Kaye) to fightDoctor Spectro (Tom Kenny).[22] | Batman: The Long Halloween, Part Two | |
| 14 | Constantine: The House of Mystery[23] | May 3, 2022 | Immediately following the ending ofJustice League Dark: Apokolips War,[24] where the Flash traveled back in time to create a new Flashpoint, John Constantine (Matt Ryan) wakes up in the House of Mystery with no recollection of how he got there. In each room he enters, he is set upon and killed by his friends, who have become demons. When Constantine escapes from the House of Mystery, theSpectre (Lou Diamond Phillips) appears and explains that he put Constantine in the House to protect him from the punishment the universe had prepared for his time-travel violations. The House was intended to be peaceful, but Constantine's deep self-hatred and guilt transformed his friends into demons as a subconscious form of self-punishment. Subsequently, Constantine is dragged screaming into the light as he begs Spectre to kill him. After Constantine is far away, Spectre quotes "Woe to you, John Constantine". | DC Showcase Animated Shorts – Constantine: The House of Mystery |
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Nightwing and Robin | A 45-second short film set during the events of the DC Animated Movie Universe filmJustice League: Throne of Atlantis. The two main characters are called upon by Batman to find and capture theScarecrow (Michael Rosenbaum) since he had to help the Justice League. WhileJason O'Mara reprises Batman in this short, only his voice is heard while Nightwing and Robin have no dialogue. Talon (who would be featured inBatman vs. Robin) makes a silent cameo in the film.[25] |
Beyond the list of announced projects, creators involved in various levels at DC Comics have brought up names of possible future projects.
Sales figures below represent, when available, DVD and Blu-ray sales in the United States. Theatrical ticket, digital, and rental sales are not included.
Each film is linked to the "Critical response" section of its article.
The following films are stand-alone, and do not share continuities with each other or other films (note exceptions).
This continuity is based on theSuperman/Batman storyline.
This continuity is based onJLA storylines published in 2000.[149][150]
This continuity is based onFrank Miller'sBatman: Year One arc[151] andThe Dark Knight Returns.[152]
A shared universe, with influences fromThe New 52 continuity and various DC eras and productions.
This continuity is set in theDC Animated Universe (although the canonicity is open-ended)[7][8]
[Justice League: War] is the first true "New 52" DCU that we've done.Flashpoint kind of was the old universe, and at the end we hinted at the New 52 universe. I'm hoping that somewhere down the line, we can do some other films that will hopefully connect the events fromFlashpoint intoJustice League: War and any other films we do in the New 52 universe, which would be kind of cool.
