The DC universe is vast and perhaps more extensive than the Marvel universe. With titles spreading across both live-action and animated films and shows, the DC universe is pretty diverse.
The DC universe first began with a Superman film in 1951, and over the years, there have been over 50 films, shows, and animated titles in the complete universe. You can consume the entire universe as segments in their release and chronological watch order.
1. The New DCEU
i. Chronological Order
The most preferred watch order is the chronological watch order since the timeline of the events is pretty straightforward to understand.
- Man of Steel
- Wonder Woman
- Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice
- Suicide Squad
- Wonder Woman 1984
- Justice League
- Zack Snyder’s Justice League
- Aquaman
- Shazam!
- Birds of Prey
- The Suicide Squad
- Peacemaker
- Black Adam
- Shazam: Fury of the Gods
- The Flash
- Blue Beetle
- Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom
ii. Release Order
To begin with, I am listing down all the new DC movies that are in the DCEU. It started with Man of Steel in 2013 and today has about 12 titles that bring together various aspects of the universe.
| Title | Release Date |
| 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 |
| The Suicide Squad | August 6, 2021 |
| Peacemaker | January 13, 2022 |
| Black Adam | October 22, 2022 |
| Shazam: Fury of the Gods | March 17, 2023 |
| The Flash | June 15, 2023 |
| Blue Beetle | August 18, 2023 |
| Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom | December 21, 2023 |
While the timeline of the events is pretty straightforward and easy to understand, the only confusion you might face is between Justice League and Snyder’s version of the same film. This is because Warner Bros studios haven’t made Snyder’s Cut canon. As of now, it is a standalone film that will only be part of the extended universe.
2. The Arrowverse
The Arrowverse is CW Network’s rendition of numerous popular characters such as the Arrow, Flash, Batwoman, Supergirl, Black Lightning, and more.
While some shows have built an ardent fan following, a few haven’t. However, when you look at this universe holistically, it is pretty successful and perhaps has gained more appreciation from fans and critics alike than the DCEU.
i. Release Order
| Title | Release Date |
| Arrow | 10 October 2012 – 28 January 2020 |
| Flash | 7 October 2014 – Present |
| Constantine | 24 October 2014 – 13 February 2015 |
| Supergirl | 26 October 2015 – 9 November 2021 |
| Vixen Animated Web Series | 25 August 2015 – 19 October 2016 |
| Legends of Tomorrow | 21 January 2016 – Present |
| Freedom Fighters: The Ray | 9 December 2017 – 19 July 2018 |
| Black Lightning | 16 January 2018 – 24 May 2021 |
| Batwoman | 6 October 2019 – Present |
| Superman & Lois | 23 February 2021 – Present |
ii. Chronological Watch Order
The Arrowverse’s timeline is relatively easy to follow, and most shows can and should be watched in parallel. The shows that have been mentioned together can be watched in parallel so that you can enjoy the crossover episodes with complete context.
- Arrow (Seasons 1 and 2)
- The Flash (Season 1)
- Arrow (Season 3)
- Constantine
- The Flash (Season 2 (A))
- Arrow (Season 4 (A))
- Vixen: The Movie
- Arrow (Season 4 (B): Post-Legends of Yesterday)
- The Flash (Season 2 (B): Post-Legends of Today)
- Supergirl (Season 1)
- DC’s Legends of Tomorrow (Season 1)
- Supergirl (Season 2 (A))
- The Flash (Season 3 (A))
- Arrow (Season 5 (A))
- DC’s Legends of Tomorrow (Season 2 (A))
- Supergirl (Season 2 (B): Post-Invasion)
- The Flash (Season 3 (B): Post-Invasion)
- DC’s Legends of Tomorrow (Season 2 (B): Post-Invasion)
- Arrow (Season 5 (B): Post-Invasion)
- Supergirl (Season 3 (A))
- Arrow (Season 6 (A))
- The Flash (Season 4 (A))
- DC’s Legends of Tomorrow (Season 3 (A))
- Supergirl Season 3 (B): Post-Crisis on Earth-X)
- DC’s Legends of Tomorrow (season 3 (B): Post-COE-X)
- Arrow (Season 6 (B): Post-COE-X)
- The Flash (Season 4 (B): Post-COE-X)
- The Flash (Season 6 (A))
- Arrow (Season 7 (A))
- Supergirl (Season 4 (A))
- Arrow (Season 7 (B): Post-Else Worlds)
- The Flash (Season 5 (B): Post-Else Worlds)
- Supergirl (Season 4 (B)): Post-Else Worlds)
- DC’s Legends of Tomorrow (Season 4)
- Supergirl (Season 5 (A): Pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths)
- Batwoman (Season 1 (A): Pre-Crisis)
- The Flash (Season 6 (A): Pre-Crisis)
- Arrow (Season 8 (A): Pre-Crisis)
- Crisis on Infinite Earths (CW Arrowverse crossover event)
- Arrow (Season 8; Episodes 9 and 10 are the final two episodes of the series)
- DC’s Legends of Tomorrow (Season 5)
- The Flash (Season 6 (B): Post-Crisis)
- Supergirl (Season 5 (B): Post-Crisis)
- Batwoman (Season 1 (B): Post-Crisis)
- Black Lightning (Seasons 1-4)
- Supergirl (Season 6)
- Batwoman (Seasons 2 and 3)
- The Flash (Season 7)
- DC’s Legends of Tomorrow (Season 6)
- DC’s Legends of Tomorrow (Season 7)
- The Flash (Season 8)
- The Flash (Season 9)
Note:
- Vixen Season 1 takes place around Arrow 3×15 and Flash 1×15
- Vixen Season 2 takes place around Arrow 4×18 and after Flash 2×04
- An alternate way of watching Constantine is before Arrow 4×05
iii. Crossover Episodes
- Flash 1×08 | Arrow 3×08
- The Flash 2×08 | Arrow 4×08
- Supergirl 1×18 (The Flash Appearance)
- Supergirl 2×08 | Flash 3×08 | Arrow 5×08 | Legends of Tomorrow 2×07
- Supergirl 2×16 | The Flash 3×17
- Supergirl 3×08 | Arrow 6×08 | Flash 4×08 | Legends of Tomorrow 3×08
- Flash 5×09 | Arrow 7×09 | Supergirl 4×09
- Supergirl 5×09 | Batwoman 1×09 | Flash 6×09 | Arrow 8×08 | Legends of Tomorrow 5×0(1)
- Batwoman 2×16 | Flash 7×16 | Superman & Lois 1×12 | Supergirl 6×12
- Flast 8×01 | 8×02 | 8×03 | 8×04 | 8×05
This is the complete list of crossover episodes. In the 8th crossover episode list, the Legends of Tomorrow episode can be considered episode 0 or episode 1 of the show.
3. The Nolan Batman Trilogy Release and Chronological Watch Order
The Nolan Trilogy is one of the few DC works that has profoundly impacted pop culture in ways very few superhero films or series ever have. The way it dives into the human mind and dissects our society is beyond genius.
The release order and chronological watch order for Nolan’s Batman/Dark Knight Trilogy are the same, and you can watch the films in their order of release.
| Title | Release Date |
| Batman Begins | June 15, 2005 |
| The Dark Knight | July 18, 2008 |
| The Dark Knight Rises | July 20, 2012 |
4. Other DC Shows Release Order and Chronological Watch Order
These shows are a few more adaptations of DC characters that are mostly not popular on mainstream TV. You can watch most of them as standalone shows in any order you choose.
- Smallville | 2001 – 2011
- Birds of Prey | 2002 – 2003
- Gotham | 2014 – 2019
- Powerless | 2017
- Titan | 2018 – Present
- Krypton | 2018 – 2019
- Doom Patrol | 2019 – Present
- Watchmen | 2019
- Swamp Thing | 2019
- Pennyworth | 2019 – Present
5. Other DC Movies Release Order and Chronological Watch Order
Just like the series, numerous films after the year 2000 have been released, which can be watched as standalone movies.
However, most of these films are pretty underwhelming, and some might not even be worth your time. So, start with Watchmen and Joker, which have great plots, performances, and characters.
- Catwoman – 2004
- Constantine – 2005
- Superman Returns – 2006
- Watchmen – 2009
- Green Lantern – 2011
- Joker – 2019
- The Batman – 2022
6. DC Old Movies (Before the 2000s) Release and Chronological Order
Some are standalone films in this list, and some have multiple sequels. I’ve mentioned which ones are standalone and which ones have a sequel along with the film titles. You can follow the release order of films since the timeline is pretty straightforward
- Superman and the Mole Man – 1951 (Standalone)
- Batman: The Movie – 1966 (Standalone)
- Superman – 1978 (Part 1)
- Superman II – 1980 (Part 2)
- Swamp Thing – 1982 (Part 1)
- Superman III – 1983 (Part 3)
- Supergirl – 1984 (Standalone)
- Superman IV: The Quest for Peace – 1987 (Part 4)
- The Return of the Swamp Thing – 1989 (Part 2)
- Batman – 1989 (Part 1)
- Batman Returns – 1992 (Part 2)
- Batman Forever – 1995 (Standalone)
- Batman and Robin – 1997 (Standalone)
- Steel – 1997 (Standalone)
7. DC Old Series (Before the 2000s) Release and Chronological Order
- Adventures of Superman (1952 to 1958)
- Batman (1966 to 1968)
- Shazam (1974 to 1976)
- Wonder Woman (1975 to 1979)
- Superboy (1988 to 1992)
- Swamp Thing (1990 to 1993)
- The Flash (1990 to 1991)
- Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (1993 to 1997)
8. About DC Movies
DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book publishers. It produces material featuring numerous well-known superhero characters, including Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, The Flash, Aquaman, and Green Arrow. Most of this material takes place in a shared fictional universe, which also features teams such as the Justice League, the Suicide Squad, and the Teen Titans. The company has also published non-DC Universe-related material, including V for Vendetta, and many titles under their alternative imprint Vertigo Comics.
Film adaptations based on DC Comics properties have included serials, live action and animated films, direct-to-video releases, television films and documentary films.
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