It’s a known fact that the DC extended universe had quite a rough start as compared to the Marvel cinematic universe however the intricate timeline of events that occur throughout the DC comics movies released in the past seven years is an intriguing one. This makes watching DC Movies in order an inherently rewarding process.
It all started from the gutsy reboot of Superman in the form of Man of Steel. Produced by Christopher Nolan and directed by Zack Snyder with the intention to kickstart an interlinked series of films that would pave the way for a double-barreled Justice League episode. Unfortunately, due to a multitude of factors, this dream of Snyder’s never came true.
Despite this, there still is a chronological order for at least five movies or so. The story of these films are interlinked and the events of each one have a ripple effect. This captivates the audience as it leads to exciting crossovers and cameos that add additional depth to the storyline.
We understand that as exciting as this timeline sounds, it can be extremely overwhelming to figure out the right order to watch the DC movies. For this reason, precisely we have crafted a whole list of how to watch the movies in chronological order.
Before diving into the list let us clarify that the list only consists of movies that are a part of the “DC Extended Universe”- these are the films made specifically to adjust and build upon the timeline. This means that films like Ryan Reynold’s Green Lantern, Tim Burton’s Batman and Nolan’s Dark night trilogy are not part of this list.
Well now that’s clear, let’s jump onto all DC Movies list in order.
DC Movies in Order: How to Watch Chronologically
If you’re someone who’s looking to engage on a deeper level with the storyline and actually appreciate the underlying ideas and symbology found in stories. If you’re looking to find and appreciate the nuanced connections found within the DC Universe, you must watch the DC movies in chronological order 2022 list.
Wonder Woman (2017)
Writer: Patty Jenkins
Director: Patty Jenkins
Cast: Connie Nielsen, Chris Pine, Gal Gadot, Robin Wrightherson, who was fighting alongside the Allied forces in World War I.
IMDb Rating: 7.4/10
Duration: 2h 21mins
Trailer: Wonder Woman
This is the first film of DC movies in order to watch. Set in ancient times, the story of Diana Princess (Gal Gadot) begins from flashbacks of the Amazon women warriors incarnated by Zeus, living and prospering on the secret island of Themyscira.
Though much of the story is situated in the 1918 setting where Captain Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) accidentally finds himself on the Island of Themyscira while fighting in World War 1 and Diana Princess accompanying him to fight in the war alongside allied forces. The “present-day” scenes of the movie imply that they have taken place sometime after Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice.
Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)
Writer: Patty Jenkins
Director: Patty Jenkins
Cast: Chris Pine, Kristen Wiig, Gal Gadot, Robin Wright
IMDb Rating: 7.6/10
Duration: 2h 35 mins
Trailer: Wonder Woman 1984
This sequel of Wonder Woman, by Patty Jenkins, takes place in 1984 and is the second DC movie to be watched in the order. The story revolves around the greed and fear growing with the profit-oriented world and is key to understanding how the DC universe really evolved over the years.
Wonder Woman 1984 is mostly set in the year 1984. The Patty Jenkins-directed sequel stands on its own, so don’t expect many DCEU movie tie-ins. Furthermore, Wonder Woman 1984 is the most recent installment in the blockbuster superhero genre.
Despite the abundance of sequels, it provides enough dazzling escapism for series fans and the iconic main character. It was DC Extended Universe Movies’ first Wonder Woman film. Diana Prince gives an outstanding performance in this film.
Use the best VPNs for Hulu so that the platform can be accessed in the UK and you can enjoy the film without facing any geo-restrictions.
Man of Steel (2013)
Writer: Zack Snyder
Director: Zack Snyder
Cast: Amy Adams, Diane Lane, Henry Cavill, Michael Shannon
IMDb Rating: 7/10
Duration: 2h 23 mins
Trailer: Man of Steel
The film that started it all draws its plot around the timeline of present-day, circa 2013. However, the film opens up with a prologue depicting the catastrophic destruction of the planet Krypton, moreover, scenes of Clark Kent’s early years when he was situated in Kansas are also included in the movie so we can say that it’s set about 20 years after the destruction of Krypton.
Insights into Superman’s younger years contain hints about how Superman’s personality shows nuances no one really expected!
Batman Vs Superman: Dawn Of Justice (2016)
Writer: Chris Terrio
Director: Zack Snyder
Cast: Ben Affleck, Jesse Eisenberg, Henry Cavill
IMDb Rating: 6.4/10
Duration: 2h 31 mins
Trailer: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
From the perspective of the timeline, this movie is all-encompassing. From flashbacks into Bruce Wayne’s childhood in 1981 revealing the gruesome death of his parents to flashforwards of a desolate Earth controlled by Darkseid (the Knightmare scenes) and adding onto it, there is even insight into Bruce Wayne’s perspective of the ending of Man of Steel.
However, the majority of the film’s story takes place about 18 months after Man of steel, with Batman (Ben Affleck) harboring a grudge against Superman. Talk about nuanced personalities!
You can watch the movie on HBO Max. As the platform is geo-restricted so use a VPN to watch HBO Max in UK so that you can enjoy the film without any interruption.
Suicide Squad (2016)
Writer: Zack Snyder
Director: Zack Snyder
Cast: Margot Robbie, Jai Courtney, Joel Kinnaman
IMDb Rating: 5.9/10
Duration: 2h 38 mins
Trailer: Suicide Squad
The setting of Suicide Squad is situated after Batman vs Superman in the timeline, as it references Superman’s death and there is even a cameo by Bruce Wayne in which he meets Amana Waller who is now a leading superhero.
However, there are flashbacks to Batman as well, where he is on the mission to track down Joker (Jared Leto) and Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), which occur right before Man of Steel. This is one of the best films on the list of DC movies in order.
Justice League (2017)
Writer: Joss Whedon
Director: Zack Snyder
Cast: Ben Affleck, Jason Momoa, Gal Gadot
IMDb Rating: 6.1/10
Duration: 2h 26 mins
Trailer: Justice League
The film Justice League is set two years after Batman vs Superman and one year after Suicide Squad, but there is a major flashback to thousands of years ago depicting Steppenwolf’s villainous attempt to take over Earth and his defeat by the alliance between Amazons, Gods, and humans.
With Batman putting together the Justice League against Steppenwolf! Remember the clues found in Suicide Squad when Batman meets Amanda Waller!
This is one of the best action movies on Hulu.
Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021)
Writer: Chris Terrio
Director: Zack Snyder
Cast: Jared Leto, Amber Heard, Henry Cavill, Gal Gadot
IMDb Rating: 8.1/10
Duration: 4h 2mins
Trailer: Zack Snyder’s Justice League
A more thorough and grander in every way Zack Snyder’s Justice League is a four-hour-long film that is a lot more intense than the theatrical version cut of Justice League. Its place in the timeline is exactly the same. It’s basically great for filling in the gaps found within the storylines of all of Justice League.
Zack Snyder’s Justice League, which runs for four hours, is a more complete and fascinating genre than Warner Bros.’ theatrical cut. Despite being non-canon, it fits neatly into the chronological timeline.
The Blu-ray version of the film is now available. Also, you can watch it on HBO Max. This film is one of the best HBO Max films.
Aquaman (2018)
Writer: David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick, Will Beall
Director: James Wan
Cast: Amber Heard, Nicole Kidman, Jason Momoa, Willem Dafoe
IMDb Rating: 6.9/10
Duration: 2h 49mins
Trailer: Aquaman
Set several months after the events of Justice League, Aquaman is a standalone film that follows Jason Mamoa’s journey to protecting his own kingdom. The flashbacks of Aquaman’s childhood date back to 1985. Now compare this time with the one in Wonder Woman 1984.
Aquaman is back on the scene. The movie follows the titular hero as he defends his homeland months after the Justice League’s events. The film opens with flashbacks from 1985, depicting Aquaman’s origin story, which includes a visit to his homeworld. In addition, the film depicts aquatic life from around the world, including sharks, dolphins, whales, crocodiles, and other animals. This is one of the best films on the list of DC movies in order.
Shazam (2019)
Writer: Henry Gayden
Director: David F. Sandberg
Cast: Jack Dylan Grazer, Zachary Levi, Mark Strong (II), Asher Angel
IMDb Rating: 7/10
Duration: 2h 12mins
Trailer: Shazam
Shazam itself is a standalone film However the film opens with the origin story of Thaddeus Sivana (the villain) in 1984. This one occurs almost parallel to Aquaman. Sadly, Shazam doesn’t provide many hints into the DC Universe, but still introduces Shazam and Sivana.
We have hopes from Shazam! Fury of the Gods to provide more insight into Shazam’s story arc.
Birds of Prey: and The Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn (2020)
Writer: Christina Hodson
Director: Cathy Yan
Cast: Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Margot Robbie, Ewan McGregor
IMDb Rating: 6.1/10
Duration: 1h 49 mins
Trailer: Birds of Prey
This standalone of Harley Quinn takes place around four years after the Suicide Squad. Due to the timelines of Batman vs Superman and Justice League, the DCEU got so disconnected that Birds of Prey has only numbered references to Harley Quinn’s action in Suicide Squad.
The film begins four years after the events of the first Harley Quinn film. Following Justice League and steel Batman v Superman, the DCEU Warner Bros films have been abandoned, with just a few allusions to Harley Quinn’s activities in Birds of Prey.
Harley Quinn’s left joker also puts a lot of strain on her back. When she attempted to manage crime boss Black Mask, Victor Zsasz her right-hand man and others in the city, she was met with rage. In this film, Harley Quinn gave an outstanding performance.
If you love this film then the list of best action movies on Netflix is made for you.
Suicide Squad (2021)
Writer: James Gunn
Director: James Gunn
Cast: Margot Robbie, Viola Davis, Joel Kinnaman, Idris Elba
IMDb Rating: 7.2/10
Duration: 1h 12 mins
Trailer: Suicide Squad (2021)
Suicide Squad 2021 is a superhero film that was released in the year 2021. The Suicide Squad, based on the DC Comics and Warner Bros. team of the same name, is the focus of the film.
Furthermore, Super-Villain meets the prison with the greatest mortality rate in the USA, including Captain, Ratcatcher 2, Peacemaker, Javelin Boomerang Bloodsport, Blackguard and Savant, King Shark to complete, do, and die missions in order to get out of the jail. This is one of the best films on the list of DC movies in order.
The Batman (2022)
Writer: Matt Reeves
Director: Matt Reeves
Cast: Robert Pattinson, Zoë Kravitz, Jeffrey Wright
IMDb Rating: 8.4/10
Duration: 2h 56 mins
Trailer: The Batman (2022)
Matt Reeves, the director of Batman, and stars John Turturro and Colin Farrell discuss how this new vision of Gotham places supervillains from Batman’s Rogues Gallery in more realistic situations than prior films.
When the Riddler, a vicious serial murderer, begins murdering Gotham’s important political figures, Batman is compelled to probe the city’s secret corruption and question his family’s participation. One of the best DC movies in order!
Watch DC Movies in Order of Release Date
To make it even easier for you here are all the release dates of the DC extended universe in chronological order:
Man of Steel – June 14, 2013
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice – March 25, 2016
Suicide Squad – August 5, 2016
Wonder Woman – June 2, 2017
Justice League – November 17, 2017
Aquaman – December 21, 2018
Shazam! – April 5, 2019
Birds of Prey – February 7, 2020
Wonder Woman 1984 — December 25, 2020
Zack Snyder’s Justice League — March 18, 2021
Upcoming DC Movies
The following is a list of upcoming DC Universe films from the multinational media group:
- The Flash (2022)
- Aquaman and the Lost Underwater Kingdom (2022)
- Black Adam (2022)
- Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023)
- Batgirl – TBC
- Wonder Woman 3 – TBC
- Supergirl – TBC
- Untitled Superman movie – TBC
- Blue Beetle – TBC
- Green Lantern Corps – TBC
- Zatanna – TBC
- Static Shock – TBC
Conclusion
You now know how to watch DC Universe UK movies in order of release date or chronologically. All of the movies, as well as the ways to watch them, are accessible on various streaming services. Furthermore, these films will not be forgotten because they are absolutely worth watching twice. It also features some of the top DC comics films ever made, such as Wonder Woman and others.
These films begin with tension, thriller, and entertainment at their highest levels. So, what are you waiting for? Grab some munchies and watch the DCEU films in order. Use the best VPN for streaming to experience buffer less streaming.