Since 2007, Warner Bros. has been producing an ever-expanding collection of direct-to-video animated films based around DC Comics characters. For more than a decade, the series – which falls under the banner of DC Universe Animated Original Movies – has been responsible for a wealth of comic book films featuring the likes of Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman, amongst others.
Warner Bros’. release schedule for DC Universe Animated Original Movies is pretty consistent and includes two-to-three films a year. Some of the movies follow the same continuity, some do their own thing, but collectively they offer an eclectic mix of feature films.
But if you’re new to this series, where do you start? What films are connected, what films are standalone stories, and what else should you know about the series?
Today I’ll answer these questions. This post will present a list of all the DC Universe Animated Original Movies, alongside various viewing orders.
I will keep it updated, to include all of the new movies that appear in this series. As you will see, there is a lot.
But before I get to all that, here are a couple of things you should know:
- The voice cast varies from movie-to-movie
- Some actors play different versions of the same character (i.e. Kevin Conroy voices Batman a number of times, but he’s not always playing the same Batman)
- Some of the movies are connected, some are not
Oh and if you’ve just stumbled upon this post via Google, you should know that I’ve created this post as an extension to my previous post, ‘What is the best order to watch the Batman animated movies?‘ If you want to focus on the Caped Crusader, you might find that post helpful too, as it covers a huge amount of animated Batman features.
Right, let’s get started.
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Production order
OK, in order to explore the different continuities and viewing orders within the DC Universe Animated Original Movies series, it is best to take a look at all of the movies as a whole. The following is a production order list of every film released since 2007.
- Superman: Doomsday (2007)
- Justice League: The New Frontier (2008)
- Batman: Gotham Knight (2008)
- Wonder Woman (2009)
- Green Lantern: First Flight (2009)
- Superman/Batman: Public Enemies (2009)
- Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths (2010)
- Superman/Batman: Apocalypse (2010)
- Under the Red Hood (2010)
- All-Star Superman (2011)
- Green Lantern: Emerald Knights (2011)
- Batman: Year One (2011)
- Justice League: Doom (2012)
- Superman vs. The Elite (2012)
- The Dark Knight Returns – Part 1 (2012)
- The Dark Knight Returns – Part 2 (2013)
- Superman: Unbound (2013)
- Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox (2013)
- Justice League: War (2014)
- Son of Batman (2014)
- Batman: Assault on Arkham (2014)
- Justice League: Throne of Atlantis (2015)
- Batman vs. Robin (2015)
- Justice League: Gods and Monsters (2015)
- Batman: Bad Blood (2016)
- Justice League vs. Teen Titans (2016)
- Batman: The Killing Joke (2016)
- Justice League Dark (2017)
- Teen Titans: The Judas Contract (2017)
- Batman and Harley Quinn (2017)
- Batman: Gotham by Gaslight (2018)
- Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay (2018)
- Constantine: City of Demons (2018)*
- The Death of Superman (2018)
- Reign of the Supermen (2019)
- Justice League vs. the Fatal Five (2019)
- Batman Hush (2019)
- Wonder Woman: Bloodlines (2019)
- Superman: Red Son (2020)
- Justice League Dark: Apokolips War (2020)
- Superman: The Man of Tomorrow (2020)
- Batman: Death in the Family (2020)
- Batman: Soul of the Dragon (2021)
- Justice Society: World War II (2021)
- Batman: Long Halloween – Part 1 (2021)
- Batman: Long Halloween – Part 2 (2021)
- Injustice (2021)
- Catwoman: Hunted (2022)
- Green Lantern: Beware My Power (2022)
- Battle of the Super Sons (2022)
- Legion of Superheroes (2023)
*Constantine: City of Demons isn’t an official DC Universe Animated Original Movie, however it is connected to the series as a sort-of sequel to Justice League Dark.
Shorts:
In addition to the feature films listed above, Warner Bros. has also released a small collection of shorts. These shorts can (more or less) be watched in any order.
- The Spectre (2010)
- Jonah Hex (2010)
- Green Arrow (2010)
- Superman/Shazam! The Return of Black Adam (2010)
- Catwoman (2011)
- Nightwing and Robin (2015)
- Sgt. Rock (2019)
- Death (2019)
- The Phantom Stranger (2020)
- Adam Strange (2020)
- Kamandi: The Last Boy on Earth (2021)
- The Losers (2021)
- Blue Beetle (2021)
- Constantine: The House of Mystery (2022)
OK, so that’s the production order of all the films, now let’s break them down into potential viewing orders.
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Miscellaneous
The beauty of DC Universe Animated Original Movies is that the films can be watched as standalone tales if desired. However, some of the titles share continuity, while a number have no attachments at all.
The following films are all unconnected tales that can be watched in any order. Some of these stories are adaptations of iconic comic book storylines, such as Year One and Flashpoint, while Assault on Arkham is loosely connected to the Batman: Arkham gaming series.
- Superman: Doomsday (2007)
- Justice League: The New Frontier (2008)
- Batman: Gotham Knight (2008)
- Wonder Woman (2009)
- Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths (2010)
- Under the Red Hood (2010)
- All-Star Superman (2011)
- Batman: Year One (2011)**
- Justice League: Doom (2012)
- Superman vs. The Elite (2012)
- Superman: Unbound (2013)
- Batman: Assault on Arkham (2014)
- Justice League: Gods and Monsters (2015)
- Batman: The Killing Joke (2016)
- Batman: Gotham by Gaslight (2018)
- Superman: Red Son (2020)
- Batman: Death in the Family (2020)
- Batman: Soul of the Dragon (2021)
- Injustice (2021)
- Catwoman: Hunted (2022)
- Battle of the Super Sons (2022)
**The Catwoman short (see list of shorts above) is linked to Batman: Year One, so is best watched after viewing the film.
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Green Lantern
Green Lantern appears in a lot of DC Universe Animated Original Movies, quite often with Nathan Fillion providing the voice. However, there are two GL movies that are connected to each other, but are not connected to any other films featuring the character.
- Green Lantern: First Flight (2009)
- Green Lantern: Emerald Knights (2011)
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Superman/Batman
From two Green Lantern flicks, to two Superman/Batman movies. These two films are based on the Superman/Batman comics of the early ’00s and are connected to each other, just not connected to any of the other movies.
- Superman/Batman: Public Enemies (2009)
- Superman/Batman: Apocalypse (2010)
Tim Daly and Kevin Conroy provide voice-over duties for the Man of Steel and the Caped Crusader, respectively.
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The New 52
And now onto the longest run of continuity within the DC Universe Animated Original Movies collection, The New 52. This run of movies shares a loose continuity, although some of the voice actors change from time-to-time.
To date, this series of DC animated movies is by far the most intwined. So, if you are looking to go on a bit of a journey with some of the characters, these are the films for you.
- Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox (2013)
- Justice League: War (2014)
- Son of Batman (2014)
- Justice League: Throne of Atlantis (2015)***
- Batman vs. Robin (2015)
- Batman: Bad Blood (2016)
- Justice League vs. Teen Titans (2016)
- Justice League Dark (2017)
- Teen Titans: The Judas Contract (2017)
- Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay (2018)
- Constantine: City of Demons (2018)
- The Death of Superman (2018)
- Reign of the Supermen (2019)
- Batman Hush (2019)
- Wonder Woman: Bloodlines (2019)
- Justice League Dark: Apokolips War (2020)***
***The animated short, Nightwing and Robin is connected to Justice League: Throne of Atlantis, while the short Constantine: The House of Mystery is set after the events of Justice League Dark: Apokolips War.
If you’re looking for a good run of DC movies that share continuity then go for the films listed above.
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Tomorrowverse
Following the conclusion of The New 52 run of films (see above), a new continuity was created beginning with Superman: The Man of Tomorrow.
- Superman: The Man of Tomorrow (2020)
- Justice Society: World War II (2021)
- Batman: Long Halloween – Part 1 (2021)
- Batman: Long Halloween – Part 2 (2021)
- Green Lantern: Beware My Power (2022)
- Legion of Superheroes (2023)
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The Dark Knight Returns
This is pretty obvious, but just to make things clear there are two Batman films that follow on from each other:
- The Dark Knight Returns – Part 1 (2012)
- The Dark Knight Returns – Part 2 (2013)
These two movies are based on the iconic comic book storyline of the same name, by Frank Miller. They are very, very good.
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Bruce Timm
And finally, time for a couple of movies that are a call-back to one of the greatest eras of DC animation. The two films are:
- Batman and Harley Quinn (2017)
- Justice League vs. the Fatal Five (2019)
These films are loosely based on characters who appeared in the DC Animated Universe (DCAU) – aka the universe from producer Bruce Timm, that began in 1992 with Batman: The Animated Series. The films share similar designs, characterisations and voice actors, although they are not 100% part of that continuity.
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I hope this post has provided a little clarity on the viewing order of the DC Universe Animated Original Movies. As you can see, there are a lot of films but they can be split up into subsections if desired, or they can be watched as a whole.
For me, the best viewing order is production order. I simply treat all of these films as one large multiverse and then I dive right in!
But pick what works best for you. So, if you only want to watch Justice League films then just watch the Justice League movies. Same with Wonder Woman, Superman and so on.
Oh, and FYI, if you’re a fan of Batman – which I guess you probably are if you like DC animated movies – then you might like to know that Batman: The Definitive History has been published and it is one awesome book!
I know, because I picked up a copy as soon as it was available.
The 246-page book looks at the entire history of the Caped Crusader, including his comic book tales, his movie career, and everything in between.
Batman: The Definitive History is widely available, including from Amazon US and Amazon UK.
Read more:
Disclaimer: I earn a commission for products purchased through some links in this article.
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35 Responses to What is the best order to watch the DC Universe Animated Original Movies?
[…] is a lot to work through here, so to help simplify things even further I have published a separate list of DC Universe Animated Original Movies. This post explains which films are connected and which […]
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thank you so much may batman bless you i was looking for this hehe you saved me
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Thanks so much, please would you continue to update😊☺️
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Will do 🙂
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Thank you for taking the time to write this and update it in the future! You are a gem in this world.
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Thank you, thank you very much. Exactly the journey I was looking for.
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Glad I could help. 🙂
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Hello,
You’ve missed out the unofficial 1st Batman/Superman movie titled ‘World’s Finest’ from 1997. Although it’s officially episodes 16, 17 an 18 of ‘Superman: The Animated Series Season 2’ it was later released on DVD as a movie.
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The Batman/Superman Movie isn’t included, not because it is a collection of TV movies, but because it is not part of the DC Animated Universe Original Movies collection. I think you are confusing it with the DCAU (I.e the Bruce Timm Universe).
All of the movies in this post are the straight-to-video releases from Warner Bros that have been coming out since 2007.
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So it SEEMS the events of The Flashpoint Paradox should be included in the intertwined list if Suicide Squad: Hell To Pay is in there . . .
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This is correct. The list has been updated. 🙂
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Cool! And thanks for making the list. I watched many of these when they came out, but missed a few etc. and this was a great way to go back through and catch what I missed.
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🙂
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Thank you so much for this. It was really helpful. I’ve searched a long time for this. Quarantine will be a lot more bearable now! 😁
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I hope you are getting through quarantine as best as you can. Hang in there – we are all in this madness together. 🙂
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Thank you very much for this convenient list, Mr. Wiggan! Rented these movies and watched them all (though some were sadly mediocre). I would like to also point out that Deathstroke: Knights and Dragons was omitted despite now being a movie like Constantine: City of Demons. Cheers!
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I’m glad you found the list useful. 🙂 There’s a reason I haven’t included Deathstroke: Knights and Dragons.
Constantine: City of Demons was conceived as a CW webseries, but was then reworked to become a movie, which fits into the continuity of the DC Universe Animated Original Movies universe. So while it wasn’t created as a DCUAO movie, it gets included by default.
With regards to Deathstroke: Knights and Dragons, this was also a webseries turned into a movie. However, this is a standalone movie not connected to any of the films in the DCUAO movie collection, so it doesn’t get the same treatment. Deathstroke: Knights and Dragons exists as a separate entity, like Batman Ninja or Batman vs The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles which are also not DCU Animated Original Movies. 🙂
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Ah, should have known there was a reason, of course! Suppose it was given a sequel, would it be considered for the miscellaneous section or will it continue to not be listed due to the reason given? Appreciate the response, as always!
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Not a problem. 🙂
Even if it received a sequel, it wouldn’t get added to the miscellaneous section or any section on this post, unless it was connected in some way to the DC Universe Animated Original Movies collection.
This post / list is just for the movies that fall under the Warner Bros.’ DC Universe Animated Original Movies banner, which is a specific subsection of DC movies, rather than a broad term for all DC animated movies.
Other DC animated movies exist, like the aforementioned Batman Ninja etc, which are Warner Bros. movies, but they are not part of the DC Universe Animated Original Movies collection. I hope that makes sense. 🙂
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Ah, alright. Sorry for being a tad bit obnoxious there, I wasn’t too familiar with the distinction between the 3 different categories of DC Animated films but I understand now, thank you for clarification. Have a fine day.
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No worries at all – and you weren’t being obnoxious. It can be a little confusing as some DC movies fall under one category and some another. 🙂
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Your nickname should be Supa-dupa-man! Thanks for this article. Just what I need. Bless you.
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Happy to help!
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Hi, I’m new to the DCAU movies would it be recommended to start with the new 52 and then follow the other standalones and collections if I’m into those? thanks for the list.
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That’s certainly not a bad idea. 🙂
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Hi, i have a question, i’m trying to get on all of this, are the animated series part of the universe? Like Batman: the animated series or superman: the animated series or the justice league series, or is this universe exlusive for movies?
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Hi, shows such as Batman: The Animated Series, Superman: The Animated Series etc are separate entities. They are part of the DCAU, which more or less came to an end in 2006.
These movies are the DCUAOM, which began in 2007. They were designed to be movies that people could dip in and out of, without needing to know any major continuity.
Initially these movies existed as standalone films (which many still are), but along the way some have had sequels.
Hope this helps.
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How does ArrowVerse fit into this? The Arrow is such a long show. It seems as though it would be the “odd man out” in this situation. Similar to Venom in the Marvel Universe, it doesn’t have much to tie into the rest.
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The Arrowverse doesn’t fit into this collection of DC movies – it is effectively its own thing.
There is an animated Vixen movie, which is part of the Arrowverse but that has nothing to do with the DC Animated Universe Original Movies.
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what about the animated TV shows in the universe? can you tell about them?
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When you say TV shows, are you referring to the likes of Batman: The Animated Series or Justice League Unlimited etc? If so, they are not part of the DC Universe Animated Original Movies (DCUAOM) collection, they are part of the DC Animated Universe (DCAU). For information about this universe, and all its shows/movies, check out my post: https://illgetdrivethru.com/2020/02/20/what-is-the-best-order-to-watch-the-dc-animated-universe/
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Hello. I would like to ask where Batman Ninja and Batman vs the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fit in on the list as those two seem to be left out.
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Hi, thanks for your question. The reason these two movies aren’t included is because they are not DC Universe Animated Original Movies. DCUAOM are a specific collection of direct-to-video titles from Warner Bros. The two movies you have mentioned are not part of this collection and instead other direct-to-video Batman movies (of which there are many). I’ve covered this in a separate post called What is the best order to watch the Batman animated movies? If you take a look at this post it’ll explain everything. 🙂
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Thanks. Though I have to ask, is Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker part of your other list that specifies Batman animated movies?
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Yes. The list covers all the different subsections of animated Batman movies. There are lots. 🙂
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