DC Animated Movie Universe
American media franchise
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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.
| DC Animated Movie Universe | |
|---|---|
DC logo used between 2016 and 2024 | |
| Years | 2013–2024 |
| Miscellaneous | |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Home Entertainment |
| Country | United States |
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, nicknamed 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 25 films overall, with tie-in media including 5 short films, one web series and two digital comics.
Development history
First story arc: "New 52" (2013–2020)
The franchise was initially loosely based on a set of storylines from the New 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 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.[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 film Constantine: The House of Mystery was released in May 2022 and is a narrative sequel to Justice League Dark: Apokolips War.[3]
Second story arc: "Tomorrowverse" (2020–2024)
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.[4]
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.[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 of Superman: Man of Tomorrow.[6]
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.[7]
Films
| 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 | Jay Oliva | Jim Krieg | James Tucker |
| Justice League: War | February 4, 2014 | Heath Corson | ||
| Son of Batman | April 22, 2014 | Ethan Spaulding | Ethan Spaulding & Joe R. Lansdale | |
| Justice League: Throne of Atlantis | January 13, 2015 | Heath Corson & James Robinson | ||
| Batman vs. Robin | April 7, 2015 | Jay Oliva | J. M. DeMatteis | |
| Batman: Bad Blood | January 20, 2016 | |||
| Justice League vs. Teen Titans | March 29, 2016 | Sam Liu | Alan Burnett & Bryan Q. Miller | |
| Justice League Dark | January 24, 2017 | Jay Oliva | Ernie Altbacker & J. M. DeMatteis | |
| Teen Titans: The Judas Contract | April 4, 2017 | Sam Liu | Ernie Altbacker | |
| Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay | March 27, 2018 | Alan Burnett | Sam Liu | |
| The Death of Superman | July 24, 2018 | Sam Liu & Jake Castorena | Peter J. Tomasi | Sam Liu & Amy McKenna |
| Reign of the Supermen | January 29, 2019 | Sam Liu | Jim Krieg & Tim Sheridan | James Tucker |
| Batman: Hush | July 20, 2019 | Justin Copeland | Ernie Altbacker | Amy McKenna |
| Wonder Woman: Bloodlines | October 5, 2019 | Sam Liu & Justin Copeland | H. G. Peter, Mairghread Scott & William Moulton Marston | Sam Liu & Amy McKenna |
| Justice League Dark: Apokolips War | May 5, 2020 | Matt Peters & Christina Sotta | Ernie Altbacker, Christina Sotta & Mairghread Scott | James Tucker |
| Second story arc: "Tomorrowverse" (2020-2024) | ||||
| Superman: Man of Tomorrow | August 23, 2020 | 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 | Chris Palmer | Tim Sheridan | |
| Batman: The Long Halloween - Part Two | July 27, 2021 | |||
| Green Lantern: Beware My Power | July 25, 2022 | Jeff Wamester | John Semper & Ernie Altbacker | Jim Krieg & Sam Register |
| Legion of Super-Heroes | February 7, 2023 | Josie Campbell | Jim Krieg, Butch Lukic & Kimberly S. Moreau | |
| Justice League: Warworld | July 25, 2023 | Jeremy Adams, Josie Campbell & Ernie Altbacker | Jim Krieg & Kimberly S. Moreau | |
| Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths - Part One | January 9, 2024 | Jim Krieg | ||
| Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths - Part Two | April 23, 2024 | |||
| Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths - Part Three | July 16, 2024 | |||
Potential projects
Short films
| Film | U.S. release date | Director(s) | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Home media release |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nightwing and Robin | January 14, 2015 | Bruce Timm | Greg Pak, Scott Lobdell & Charles Soule | Justice League: Throne of Atlantis | |
| Adam Strange[10] | May 5, 2020 | Butch Lukic | Butch Lukic & J.M. DeMatteis | Amy McKenna & Butch Lukic | Justice League Dark: Apokolips War DC Showcase Animated Shorts - Batman: Death in the Family |
| Kamandi: The Last Boy on Earth![11] | April 27, 2021 | Milo Neuman | Paul Giacoppo | Justice Society: World War II DC Showcase Animated Shorts - Constantine: The House of Mystery | |
| The Losers | June 22, 2021 | Tim Sheridan | Jim Krieg, Sam Register, Rick Morales & Alyessa Ornelas | Batman: The Long Halloween - Part One DC Showcase Animated Shorts - Constantine: The House of Mystery | |
| Blue Beetle | July 27, 2021 | Jeremy Adams | Jennifer Keene | Batman: The Long Halloween - Part Two DC Showcase Animated Shorts - Constantine: The House of Mystery | |
| Constantine: The House of Mystery[12] | May 3, 2022[13] | 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[14] | 5 (original version) | March 24, 2018 | Doug Murphy | J. M. DeMatteis | Butch Lukic | DC Entertainment Phantom Four Films Blue Ribbon Content Digital eMation Inc. Berlanti Productions 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 | Cat Staggs, Agustin Padilla, Stefano Raffaele & Mathew Dow Smith | 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 | 1401287786, 978-1302957308 |
| The Death of Superman: The Wake | The Death of Superman: Part 1 #1-12 | November 26, 2019 | 1779501137, 978-1779501134 |
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
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 video sales | Rotten Tomatoes | IGN | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox | July 30, 2013 | $5,263,783 | 100% (5 reviews)[15] | [16] | |
| Justice League: War | February 4, 2014 | $5,806,863 | 50% (6 reviews)[17] | [18] | |
| Son of Batman | April 22, 2014 | $7,035,303 | 64% (11 reviews)[19] | [20] | |
| Justice League: Throne of Atlantis | January 13, 2015 | $4,661,509 | 63% (8 reviews)[21] | [22] | |
| Batman vs. Robin | April 7, 2015 | $4,275,014 | 100% (5 reviews)[23] | [24] | |
| Batman: Bad Blood | January 20, 2016 | $4,884,919 | 100% (5 reviews)[25] | [26] | |
| Justice League vs. Teen Titans | March 29, 2016 | $4,680,315 | 80% (5 reviews)[27] | [28] | |
| Justice League Dark | January 24, 2017 | $3,321,532 | 78% (9 reviews)[29] | [30] | |
| Teen Titans: The Judas Contract | April 4, 2017 | $3,279,855 | 83% (6 reviews)[31] | [32] | |
| Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay | March 27, 2018 | $2,880,096 | 88% (8 reviews)[33] | [34] | |
| The Death of Superman | July 24, 2018 | $6,551,111 | 92% (13 reviews)[35] | [36] | |
| Constantine: City of Demons – The Movie | October 9, 2018 | $1,699,592 | [37] | ||
| Reign of the Supermen | January 29, 2019 | $3,797,618 | [38] | ||
| Batman: Hush | July 20, 2019 | $3,603,543 | 88% (17 reviews)[39] | [40] | |
| The Death and Return of Superman | October 1, 2019 | ||||
| Wonder Woman: Bloodlines | October 5, 2019 | $1,723,810 | 88% (8 reviews)[41] | [42] | |
| Justice League Dark: Apokolips War | May 5, 2020 | $5,576,143 | 100% (18 reviews)[43] | [44] | |
| Superman: Man of Tomorrow | August 23, 2020 | $3,460,174 | 93% (14 reviews)[45] | 7/10[46] | [47] |
| Justice Society: World War II | April 27, 2021 | $3,676,453 | 76% (17 reviews)[48] | 9/10[49] | [50] |
| Batman: The Long Halloween – Part One | June 22, 2021 | $3,621,499 | 100% (21 reviews)[51] | 8/10[52] | [53] |
| Batman: The Long Halloween – Part Two | July 27, 2021 | $2,565,761 | 100% (15 reviews)[54] | 9/10[55] | [56] |
| DC Showcase Animated Shorts – Constantine: The House of Mystery | May 3, 2022 | ||||
| Green Lantern: Beware My Power | July 25, 2022 | $798,310 | 56% (9 reviews)[57] | 4/10[58] | [59] |
| Batman: The Long Halloween – Deluxe Edition | September 20, 2022 | ||||
| Legion of Super-Heroes | February 7, 2023 | $962,432 | 60% (5 reviews)[60] | [61] | |
| Justice League: Warworld | July 25, 2023 | $995,545 | 50% (6 reviews)[62] | 6/10[63] | [64] |
| Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part One | January 9, 2024 | $839,881 | 88% (8 reviews)[65] | 6/10[66] | [67] |
| Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part Two | April 23, 2024 | 17% (6 reviews)[68] | 4/10[69] | ||
| Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part Three | July 16, 2024 | 20% (5 reviews)[70] | 4/10[71] |
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".[72]
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–present)