| DC Animated Movie Universe | |
|---|---|
 DC logo used between 2016 and 2024 | |
| Years | 2013–2024 |
| Miscellaneous | |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Home Entertainment |
| Country | United States |
TheDC Animated Movie Universe (DCAMU) is an Americanmedia franchise andshared universe ofanimated films distributed between 2013 and 2024 byWarner Bros. Animation andDC Entertainment. Based on characters from theDC Universe (DC Comics), the franchise is part of theDC Universe Animated Original Movies line.
The main film series are split into two story arcs with differentcontinuities. The first story arc began in 2013 withJustice League: The Flashpoint Paradox and ended in 2020 withJustice League Dark: Apokolips War, while the second story arc, which was nicknamed as the "Tomorrowverse", began later that year withSuperman: Man of Tomorrow and concluded in 2024 with theJustice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths trilogy.
The franchise comprises twenty-five films overall, with tie-in media including 5 short films, oneweb series and twodigital comics.
The franchise is initially loosely based on a set of storylines from theNew 52, DC Comics' 2011 reboot of its monthly comics' continuity. Following a teaser in the franchise's first film "Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox", a five-film story arc loosely based on the "Darkseid War" storyline written byGeoff Johns, started fromJustice League: War and was later revisited inThe Death of Superman,Reign of the Supermen and concluded inJustice League Dark: Apokolips War.[1]
After the first story arc ended, screenwriter Ernie Altbacker teased the possibility of a new project related to that continuity. He said that "the way we ended it ... it's really like a tough balancing act: It ends something on a bittersweet yet hopeful note, and I'll just say, people who are saying, 'Oh man, we're not going to get anymore of these!' ... you're not losing something, you're gaining something new ..."[2]
The DC Showcase short filmConstantine: The House of Mystery was released in May 2022 and is a narrative sequel toJustice League Dark: Apokolips War.[3]
Pre-production of the DCAMU's second story arc began in 2018 when Butch Lukic and Jim Krieg decided to plan out a ten-film story arc that would be set after the events ofJustice League Dark: Apokolips War, which ends the first story arc with a universal reset. The arc itself originally was not planned to have the "Crisis on Infinite Earths" storyline as a major plot point, but these plans were eventually changed once executives fromWarner Bros. Animation asked for it to serve as the finale.[4]
Lukic and Krieg were also unaware of theArrowverse's plans fortheir own adaptation at the time and only found out when Eric Carrasco contacted them, since he served as a writer forJustice League vs. the Fatal Five and knew them personally.[5]
The franchise's second story arc has the art style and storyline being carried over to further films that were set in the same continuity. It gained the nickname of "Tomorrowverse" after the release ofSuperman: Man of Tomorrow.[6]
Constantine: The House of Mystery continues certain story elements and helps set up theJustice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths plot, which was later confirmed to be a three-part storyline and serves as the overall conclusion to the DCAMU, with all the remaining films being released in 2024.[7]
| Film | U.S. release date | Director(s) | Writer(s) | Producer(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First story arc "New 52" (2013–2020) | ||||
| Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox | July 30, 2013 (2013-07-30) | Jay Oliva | Jim Krieg | James Tucker |
| Justice League: War | February 4, 2014 (2014-02-04) | Heath Corson | ||
| Son of Batman | April 22, 2014 (2014-04-22) | Ethan Spaulding | Joe R. Lansdale Ethan Spaulding | |
| Justice League: Throne of Atlantis | January 13, 2015 (2015-01-13) | Heath Corson James Robinson | ||
| Batman vs. Robin | April 7, 2015 (2015-04-07) | Jay Oliva | J. M. DeMatteis | |
| Batman: Bad Blood | January 20, 2016 (2016-01-20) | |||
| Justice League vs. Teen Titans | March 29, 2016 (2016-03-29) | Sam Liu | Alan Burnett Bryan Q. Miller | |
| Justice League Dark | January 24, 2017 (2017-01-24) | Jay Oliva | Ernie Altbacker J. M. DeMatteis | |
| Teen Titans: The Judas Contract | April 4, 2017 (2017-04-04) | Sam Liu | Ernie Altbacker | |
| Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay | March 27, 2018 (2018-03-27) | Alan Burnett | Sam Liu | |
| The Death of Superman | July 24, 2018 (2018-07-24) | Jake Castorena Sam Liu | Peter J. Tomasi | Sam Liu Amy McKenna |
| Reign of the Supermen | January 29, 2019 (2019-01-29) | Sam Liu | Jim Krieg Tim Sheridan | James Tucker |
| Batman: Hush | July 20, 2019 (2019-07-20) | Justin Copeland | Ernie Altbacker | Amy McKenna |
| Wonder Woman: Bloodlines | October 5, 2019 (2019-10-05) | Justin Copeland Sam Liu | William Moulton Marston H. G. Peter Mairghread Scott | Sam Liu Amy McKenna |
| Justice League Dark: Apokolips War | May 5, 2020 (2020-05-05) | Matt Peters Christina Sotta | Ernie Altbacker Mairghread Scott Christina Sotta | James Tucker |
| Second story arc: "Tomorrowverse" (2020–2024) | ||||
| Superman: Man of Tomorrow | August 23, 2020 (2020-08-23) | Chris Palmer | Tim Sheridan | Jim Krieg Kimberly S. Moreau |
| Justice Society: World War II | April 27, 2021 | Jeff Wamester | Jeremy Adams Meghan Fitzmartin | |
| Batman: The Long Halloween – Part One | June 22, 2021 (2021-06-22) | Chris Palmer | Tim Sheridan | |
| Batman: The Long Halloween – Part Two | July 27, 2021 (2021-07-27) | |||
| Green Lantern: Beware My Power | July 25, 2022 (2022-07-25) | Jeff Wamester | Ernie Altbacker John Semper | Jim Krieg Sam Register |
| Legion of Super-Heroes | February 7, 2023 (2023-02-07) | Josie Campbell | Jim Krieg Butch Lukic Kimberly S. Moreau | |
| Justice League: Warworld | July 25, 2023 (2023-07-25) | Jeremy Adams Ernie Altbacker Josie Campbell | Jim Krieg Kimberly S. Moreau | |
| Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part One | January 9, 2024 (2024-01-09) | Jim Krieg | ||
| Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part Two | April 23, 2024 | |||
| Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part Three | July 16, 2024 | |||
| Film | U.S. release date | Director(s) | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Home media release |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nightwing andRobin | January 14, 2015 (2015-01-14) | Bruce Timm | Scott Lobdell Greg Pak Charles Soule | ||
| Adam Strange[10] | May 5, 2020 (2020-05-05) | Butch Lukic | J.M. DeMatteis Butch Lukic | Butch Lukic Amy McKenna |
|
| Kamandi: The Last Boy on Earth![11] | April 27, 2021 | Milo Neuman | Paul Giacoppo |
| |
| The Losers | June 22, 2021 | Tim Sheridan | Jim Krieg Rick Morales Alyessa Ornelas Sam Register |
| |
| Blue Beetle | July 27, 2021 (2021-07-27) | Jeremy Adams | Jennifer Keene |
| |
| Constantine: The House of Mystery[12] | May 3, 2022 (2022-05-03)[13] | Matt Peters | Ernie Altbacker | James Krieg Rick Morales |
|
| Title | Episodes | U.S. release date | Director | Writer | Producer | Production companies | Network |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Constantine: City of Demons[14] | 5 (original version) | March 24, 2018 | Doug Murphy | J. M. DeMatteis | Butch Lukic | Berlanti Productions Blue Ribbon Content DC Entertainment Digital eMation Inc. Phantom Four Films Warner Bros. Animation | CW Seed |
| 2 (re-version) | January 17, 2019 |
| Title | Issue(s) | Publication date(s) | Writer | Artist(s) | Colorist(s) | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay | 12 | March 21, 2018 | Jeff Parker | Agustin Padilla Stefano Raffaele Mathew Dow Smith Cat Staggs | Tony Aviña | DC Digital First |
| The Death of Superman: Part 1 | August 1 — October 17, 2018 | Louise Simonson | Cat Staggs | Wendy Broome |
| Title | Material collected | Publication date | Publisher | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay |
| February 19, 2019 | DC Comics | 1401287786,978-1302957308 |
| The Death of Superman: The Wake |
| November 26, 2019 | 1779501137,978-1779501134 |
| Title | U.S. release date | Gross in the 1st three weeks | Gross total | Rotten Tomatoes | IGN | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox | July 30, 2013 (2013-07-30) | $2,961,457 | $5,263,783 | 100% (5 reviews)[15] | [16] | |
| Justice League: War | February 4, 2014 (2014-02-04) | $3,119,314 | $5,806,863 | 50% (6 reviews)[17] | [18] | |
| Son of Batman | April 22, 2014 (2014-04-22) | $4,071,112 | $7,035,303 | 64% (11 reviews)[19] | [20] | |
| Justice League: Throne of Atlantis | January 13, 2015 (2015-01-13) | $2,445,009[21] | $4,661,509 | 63% (8 reviews)[22] | [23] | |
| Batman vs. Robin | April 7, 2015 (2015-04-07) | $2,537,343 | $4,275,014 | 100% (5 reviews)[24] | [25] | |
| Batman: Bad Blood | January 20, 2016 (2016-01-20) | $3,093,355 | $4,884,919 | 100% (5 reviews)[26] | [27] | |
| Justice League vs. Teen Titans | March 29, 2016 (2016-03-29) | $2,522,134 | $4,680,315 | 80% (5 reviews)[28] | [29] | |
| Justice League Dark | January 24, 2017 (2017-01-24) | $1,286,255 | $3,321,532 | 78% (9 reviews)[30] | [31] | |
| Teen Titans: The Judas Contract | April 4, 2017 (2017-04-04) | $1,514,960 | $3,279,855 | 83% (6 reviews)[32] | [33] | |
| Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay | March 27, 2018 (2018-03-27) | $1,202,526 | $2,880,096 | 88% (8 reviews)[34] | [35] | |
| The Death of Superman | July 24, 2018 (2018-07-24) | $4,219,828 | $6,551,111 | 92% (13 reviews)[36] | [37] | |
| Constantine: City of Demons – The Movie | October 9, 2018 | $750,022 | $1,699,592 | NA (3 reviews)[38] | [39] | |
| Reign of the Supermen | January 29, 2019 (2019-01-29) | $3,797,618 | NA (0 reviews)[40] | [41] | ||
| Batman: Hush | July 20, 2019 (2019-07-20) | $2,584,555 | $3,603,543 | 88% (17 reviews)[42] | [43] | |
| The Death and Return of Superman | October 1, 2019 (2019-10-01) | |||||
| Wonder Woman: Bloodlines | October 5, 2019 (2019-10-05) | $764,095 | $1,723,810 | 88% (8 reviews)[44] | [45] | |
| Justice League Dark: Apokolips War | May 5, 2020 (2020-05-05) | $1,563,760 | $5,576,143 | 100% (18 reviews)[46] | [47] | |
| Superman: Man of Tomorrow | August 23, 2020 (2020-08-23) | 93% (14 reviews)[48] | 7/10[49] | |||
| Justice Society: World War II | April 27, 2021 | 76% (17 reviews)[50] | 9/10[51] | |||
| Batman: The Long Halloween – Part One | June 22, 2021 (2021-06-22) | 100% (21 reviews)[52] | 8/10[53] | |||
| Batman: The Long Halloween – Part Two | July 27, 2021 (2021-07-27) | 100% (15 reviews)[54] | 9/10[55] | |||
| DC Showcase Animated Shorts – Constantine: The House of Mystery | May 3, 2022 (2022-05-03) | |||||
| Green Lantern: Beware My Power | July 25, 2022 (2022-07-25) | 56% (9 reviews)[56] | 4/10[57] | |||
| Batman: The Long Halloween – Deluxe Edition | September 20, 2022 (2022-09-20) | |||||
| Legion of Super-Heroes | February 7, 2023 (2023-02-07) | 60% (5 reviews)[58] | ||||
| Justice League: Warworld | July 25, 2023 (2023-07-25) | 50% (6 reviews)[59] | 6/10[60] | |||
| Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part One | January 9, 2024 (2024-01-09) | 88% (8 reviews)[61] | 6/10[62] | |||
| Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part Two | April 23, 2024 | 17% (6 reviews)[63] | 4/10[64] | |||
| Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part Three | July 16, 2024 | 4/10 | [65] |
In 2019,Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay andThe Death of Superman were nominated for theGolden Reel Award in the category of "Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing – Sound Effects, Foley, Music, Dialogue and ADR for Non-Theatrical Animated Long Form Broadcast Media".[66]
In 2020,Superman: Man of Tomorrow was nominated for aCritics' Choice Award in the category of "Best Superhero Movie".
