DC Animated Movie Universe

The DC Animated Movie Universe (DCAMU) is an American media franchise and shared universe of animated films distributed between 2013 and 2024 by Warner Bros. Animation and DC Entertainment. Based on characters from the DC Universe (DC Comics), the franchise is part of the DC Universe Animated Original Movies line.

The main film series are split into two story arcs with different continuities. The first story arc began in 2013 with Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox and ended in 2020 with Justice League Dark: Apokolips War, while the second story arc, which was nicknamed as the "Tomorrowverse", began later that year with Superman: Man of Tomorrow and concluded in 2024 with the Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths trilogy.

The franchise comprises twenty-five films overall, with tie-in media including 4 short films, one web series and two digital comics.

Development history

First story arc: "New 52" (2013–2020)

The franchise is initially loosely based on a set of New 52 storylines from the DC Universe. 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" event written by Geoff Johns, started from Justice League: War and was later revisited in The Death of Superman, Reign of the Supermen and concluded in Justice League Dark: Apokolips War.

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 itTemplate:Nbsp... 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!' ...Template:Nbspyou're not losing something, you're gaining something newTemplate:Nbsp..."

The DC Showcase short film Constantine: The House of Mystery was released in May 2022 and is a narrative sequel to Justice League Dark: Apokolips War.

Second story arc: "Tomorrowverse" (2020–2024)

Tomorrowverse logo

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 of Justice 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 from Warner Bros. Animation asked for it to serve as the finale.

Lukic and Krieg were also unaware of the Arrowverse's plans for their own adaptation at the time and only found out when Eric Carrasco contacted them, since he served as a writer for Justice League vs. the Fatal Five and knew them personally.

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 of Superman: Man of Tomorrow.

Constantine: The House of Mystery continues certain story elements and helps set up the Justice 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.

Films

Film	U.S. release date	Director(s)	Writer(s)	Producer(s)
First story arc "New 52" (2013–2020)
Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox	Template:Start date	Jay Oliva	Jim Krieg	James Tucker
Justice League: War	Template:Start date		Heath Corson
Son of Batman	Template:Start date	Ethan Spaulding	Joe R. Lansdale Ethan Spaulding
Justice League: Throne of Atlantis	Template:Start date		Heath Corson James Robinson
Batman vs. Robin	Template:Start date	Jay Oliva	J. M. DeMatteis
Batman: Bad Blood	Template:Start date
Justice League vs. Teen Titans	Template:Start date	Sam Liu	Alan Burnett Bryan Q. Miller
Justice League Dark	Template:Start date	Jay Oliva	Ernie Altbacker J. M. DeMatteis
Teen Titans: The Judas Contract	Template:Start date	Sam Liu	Ernie Altbacker
Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay	Template:Start date		Alan Burnett	Sam Liu
The Death of Superman	Template:Start date	Jake Castorena Sam Liu	Peter J. Tomasi	Sam Liu Amy McKenna
Reign of the Supermen	Template:Start date	Sam Liu	Jim Krieg Tim Sheridan	James Tucker
Batman: Hush	Template:Start date	Justin Copeland	Ernie Altbacker	Amy McKenna
Wonder Woman: Bloodlines	Template:Start date	Justin Copeland Sam Liu	William Moulton Marston H. G. Peter Mairghread Scott	Sam Liu Amy McKenna
Justice League Dark: Apokolips War	Template:Start date	Matt Peters Christina Sotta	Ernie Altbacker Mairghread Scott Christina Sotta	James Tucker
Second story arc: "Tomorrowverse" (2020–2024)
Superman: Man of Tomorrow	Template:Start date	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	Template:Start date	Chris Palmer	Tim Sheridan
Batman: The Long Halloween – Part Two	Template:Start date
Green Lantern: Beware My Power	Template:Start date	Jeff Wamester	Ernie Altbacker John Semper	Jim Krieg Sam Register
Legion of Super-Heroes	Template:Start date		Josie Campbell	Jim Krieg Butch Lukic Kimberly S. Moreau
Justice League: Warworld	Template:Start date		Jeremy Adams Ernie Altbacker Josie Campbell	Jim Krieg Kimberly S. Moreau
Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part One	Template:Start date		Jim Krieg
Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part Two	April 23, 2024
Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part Three	July 16, 2024

Short films

Film	U.S. release date	Director(s)	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Home media release
Nightwing and Robin	Template:Start date	Bruce Timm	Scott Lobdell Greg Pak Charles Soule		Justice League: Throne of Atlantis
Adam Strange	Template:Start date	Butch Lukic	J.M. DeMatteis Butch Lukic	Butch Lukic Amy McKenna	Justice League Dark: Apokolips War DC Showcase Animated Shorts – Batman: Death in the Family
Kamandi: The Last Boy on Earth!	April 27, 2021	Milo Neuman	Paul Giacoppo		Justice Society: World War II DC Showcase Animated Shorts – Constantine: The House of Mystery
Blue Beetle	Template:Start date		Jeremy Adams	Jennifer Keene	Batman: The Long Halloween – Part Two DC Showcase Animated Shorts – Constantine: The House of Mystery
Constantine: The House of Mystery	Template:Start date	Matt Peters	Ernie Altbacker	James Krieg Rick Morales	DC Showcase Animated Shorts – Constantine: The House of Mystery

Other media

Web series

Title	Episodes	U.S. release date	Director	Writer	Producer	Production companies	Network
Constantine: City of Demons	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

Digital comics

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

Collected editions

Title	Material collected	Publication date	Publisher	ISBN
Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay	Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay #1–12	February 19, 2019	DC Comics	Template:ISBNT
The Death of Superman: The Wake	The Death of Superman: Part 1 #1–12	November 26, 2019		Template:ISBNT

Extended setting

• Super Friends (1973–1985)
• DC Animated Universe (1992–2006)
• Teen Titans (2003–2006)
• Teen Titans Go! (2013–present)
• Teen Titans Go! vs. Teen Titans (2019)

List of characters and cast members

Character	First story arc films (2013-2020)	Second story arc films (2020-2024)	Tie-in media (2015-2022)
Adam Strange	Template:N/a	Brian Bloom	Charlie Weber
Alberto Falcone	Template:N/a	Jack Quaid	Template:N/a
Alfred Pennyworth	James Garrett David McCallum	Alastair Duncan	Template:N/a
Amanda Waller	Vanessa Williams	colspan="2" Template:N/a
Anti-Monitor	Template:N/a	Ato Essandoh	Template:N/a
Aquaman	Cary Elwes Matt Lanter	Liam McIntyre	Template:N/a
Barbara Eileen-Gordon	Template:N/a	Amy Landecker	Template:N/a
Batgirl	Peyton R. List	Gideon Aldon	Template:N/a
Batman (Bruce Wayne)	Kevin Conroy Jason O'Mara	Jensen Ackles Kevin Conroy	Template:N/a
Batman (Terry McGinnis)	Template:N/a	Will Friedle	Template:N/a
Beast Boy	Brandon Soo Hoo	colspan="2" Template:N/a
Black Canary	Template:N/a	Elysia Rotaru	Template:N/a
Black Manta	Dave Fennoy	colspan="2" Template:N/a
Blue Beetle (Jaime Rayes)	Jake T. Austin	colspan="2" Template:N/a
Blue Beetle (Ted Kord)	Template:N/a	Matt Lanter
Brainiac	Template:N/a	Darin De Paul	Template:N/a
Brainiac 2	Template:N/a	Ben Diskin	Template:N/a
Brainiac 3	Template:N/a	Zeno Robinson	Template:N/a
Brainiac 4	Template:N/a	Robbie Daymond	Template:N/a
Brainiac 5	Template:N/a	Harry Shum Jr.	Template:N/a
Calendar Man	Template:N/a	David Dastmalchian	Template:N/a
Captain Boomerang	Liam McIntyre James Patrick Stuart	colspan="2" Template:N/a
Carmine Falcone	Template:N/a	Titus Welliver	Template:N/a
Catwoman	Jennifer Morrison	Naya Rivera	Template:N/a
Chas Chandler	colspan="2" Template:N/a	Damian O'Hare
Cyborg	Michael B. Jordan Shemar Moore	colspan="2" Template:N/a
Cyborg Superman	Patrick Fabian	colspan="2" Template:N/a
Darkseid	Steve Blum Tony Todd	colspan="2" Template:N/a
Deathstroke	Thomas Gibson Miguel Ferrer Ron Perlman	colspan="2" Template:N/a
Doctor Fate (Kent Nelson)	Template:N/a	Keith Ferguson	Template:N/a
Doctor Fate (Steel Maxum)	Greg Grunberg	colspan="2" Template:N/a
Etrigan	Dee Bradley Baker	colspan="2" Template:N/a
Flash (Barry Allen)	Justin Chambers Christopher Gorham Jason Spisak	Matt Bomer	Template:N/a
Flash (Jay Garrick)	Template:N/a	Armen Taylor	Template:N/a
Gilda Dent	Template:N/a	Julie Nathanson	Template:N/a
Green Arrow	Template:N/a	Jimmi Simpson	Template:N/a
Green Lantern (John Stewart)	Roger Cross	Aldis Hodge	Template:N/a
Green Lantern/Parallax (Hal Jordan)	Nathan Fillion Justin Kirk	Nolan North	Template:N/a
Harbinger	Template:N/a	Kari Wahlgren	Template:N/a
Harley Quinn	Tara Strong Hynden Walch	colspan="2" Template:N/a
Hawkgirl	Template:N/a	Jamie Gray Hyder	Template:N/a
Hawkman	cameo	Omid Abtahi Geoffrey Arend	Template:N/a
Hourman	Template:N/a	Matthew Mercer	Template:N/a
Huntress	Template:N/a	Erika Ishii	Template:N/a
Iris West	Jennifer Hale	Ashleigh LaThrop	Template:N/a
James Gordon	Bruce Thomas	Billy Burke	Template:N/a
Jason Blood	Ray Chase	Template:N/a	Ray Chase
John Constantine	Matt Ryan	Nolan North Matt Ryan	Matt Ryan
Joker	Dee Bradley Baker Jason Spisak	Troy Baker Mark Hamill	Template:N/a
Jonah Hex	Template:N/a	Troy Baker	Template:N/a
Jonathan Kent	Paul Eiding	Neil Flynn	Template:N/a
Kamandi	Template:N/a	Will Friedle	Cameron Monaghan
Lex Luthor	Steven Blum Rainn Wilson	Zachary Quinto Corey Stoll	Template:N/a
Lois Lane	Dana Delany Juliet Landau Rebecca Romijn	Alexandra Daddario	Template:N/a
Mad Hatter	Robin Atkin Downes	John DiMaggio	Template:N/a
Martian Manhunter	Nyambi Nyambi	Ike Amadi	Template:N/a
Martha Kent	Jennifer Hale	Bellamy Young	Template:N/a
Mon-El	Template:N/a	Yuri Lowenthal	Template:N/a
Monitor	Template:N/a	Jonathan Adams	Template:N/a
Ocean Master	Steve Blum James Patrick Stuart Sam Witwer	colspan="2" Template:N/a
Penguin	cameo	David Dastmalchian	Template:N/a
Perry White	Rocky Carroll	Piotr Michael	Template:N/a
Poison Ivy	Peyton List	Katee Sackhoff	Template:N/a
Professor Zoom	C. Thomas Howell	colspan="2" Template:N/a
Psycho-Pirate	Template:N/a	Geoffrey Arend	Template:N/a
Ra's al Ghul	Terrence C. Carson Giancarlo Esposito	colspan="2" Template:N/a
Raven	Taissa Farmiga	colspan="2" Template:N/a
Renee Montoya	Template:N/a	Alyssa Diaz	Template:N/a
Robin (Damian Wayne)	Stuart Allan	Zach Callison	Template:N/a
Robin/Nightwing (Dick Grayson) Robin (Earth-Two)	Sean Maher	Zach Callison	Template:N/a
Scarecrow	Chris Cox Michael Rosenbaum	Robin Atkin Downes	Template:N/a
Shazam	Sean Astin Steven Blum Zach Callison Jennifer Hale	colspan="2" Template:N/a
Sinestro	Template:N/a	Rick D. Wasserman	Template:N/a
Solomon Grundy	Rick D. Wasserman	Fred Tatasciore	Template:N/a
Spectre	Template:N/a	Lou Diamond Phillips
Starfire	Kari Wahlgren	colspan="2" Template:N/a
Steel	Khary Payton Cress Williams	colspan="2" Template:N/a
Supergirl	Template:N/a	Meg Donnelly	Template:N/a
Superman Superman (Earth-Two)	Sam Daly Jerry O'Connell Alan Tudyk	Darren Criss	Template:N/a
Steve Trevor	Jeffrey Donovan George Newbern James Patrick Stuart	Chris Diamantopoulos	Template:N/a
Swamp Thing	Roger Cross	colspan="2" Template:N/a
Talia al Ghul	Morena Baccarin	colspan="2" Template:N/a
Talon	Jeremy Sisto	colspan="2" Template:N/a
Thomas Wayne Batman (Flashpoint)	Kevin Conroy Kevin McKidd	Robin Atkin Downes	Template:N/a
Trigon	Jon Bernthal John DiMaggio	colspan="2" Template:N/a
Two-Face	Dave Boat	Josh Duhamel	Template:N/a
Vixen	Template:N/a	Keesha Sharp	Template:N/a
Wonder Woman Wonder Woman (Earth-Two)	Rosario Dawson Vanessa Marshall Michelle Monaghan	Stana Katic	Template:N/a
Zatanna	Camilla Luddington	Template:N/a	Camilla Luddington

Reception

Sales

Sales figures represent DVD and Blu-ray sales in the United States. International sales, digital sales, and rentals are not included.

Title	U.S. release date	Gross in the 1st three weeks	Gross total	Rotten Tomatoes	IGN	Ref.
Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox	Template:Start date	$2,961,457	$5,263,783	100% (5 reviews)
Justice League: War	Template:Start date	$3,119,314	$5,806,863	50% (6 reviews)
Son of Batman	Template:Start date	$4,071,112	$7,035,303	64% (11 reviews)
Justice League: Throne of Atlantis	Template:Start date	$2,445,009	$4,661,509	63% (8 reviews)
Batman vs. Robin	Template:Start date	$2,537,343	$4,275,014	100% (5 reviews)
Batman: Bad Blood	Template:Start date	$3,093,355	$4,884,919	100% (5 reviews)
Justice League vs. Teen Titans	Template:Start date	$2,522,134	$4,680,315	80% (5 reviews)
Justice League Dark	Template:Start date	$1,286,255	$3,321,532	78% (9 reviews)
Teen Titans: The Judas Contract	Template:Start date	$1,514,960	$3,279,855	83% (6 reviews)
Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay	Template:Start date	$1,202,526	$2,880,096	88% (8 reviews)
The Death of Superman	Template:Start date	$4,219,828	$6,551,111	92% (13 reviews)
Constantine: City of Demons – The Movie	October 9, 2018	$750,022	$1,699,592	NA (3 reviews)
Reign of the Supermen	Template:Start date		$3,797,618	NA (0 reviews)
Batman: Hush	Template:Start date	$2,584,555	$3,603,543	88% (17 reviews)
The Death and Return of Superman	Template:Start date
Wonder Woman: Bloodlines	Template:Start date	$764,095	$1,723,810	88% (8 reviews)
Justice League Dark: Apokolips War	Template:Start date	$1,563,760	$5,576,143	100% (18 reviews)
Superman: Man of Tomorrow	Template:Start date			93% (14 reviews)	7/10
Justice Society: World War II	April 27, 2021			76% (17 reviews)	9/10
Batman: The Long Halloween – Part One	Template:Start date			100% (21 reviews)	8/10
Batman: The Long Halloween – Part Two	Template:Start date			100% (15 reviews)	9/10
DC Showcase Animated Shorts – Constantine: The House of Mystery	Template:Start date
Green Lantern: Beware My Power	Template:Start date			56% (9 reviews)	4/10
Batman: The Long Halloween – Deluxe Edition	Template:Start date
Legion of Super-Heroes	Template:Start date			60% (5 reviews)
Justice League: Warworld	Template:Start date			50% (6 reviews)	6/10
Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part One	Template:Start date			88% (8 reviews)	6/10
Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part Two	April 23, 2024			17% (6 reviews)	4/10
Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part Three	July 16, 2024				4/10

Accolades

In 2019, Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay and The Death of Superman were nominated for the Golden 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".

In 2020, Superman: Man of Tomorrow was nominated for a Critics’ Choice Award in the category of "Best Superhero Movie".

See also

• DC Animated Universe (1992–2006)
• Arrowverse (2012–2023)
• DC Extended Universe (2013–2023)
• DC Universe (2024–TBD)

External links

• DC Movie titles at dccomics.com