This article is about the DC Extended Universe.
- For it's spiritual successor see DC Universe.
The DC Extended Universe (DCEU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films and a television series produced by DC Studios and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It is based on characters that appear in American comic books published by DC Comics. The DCEU also includes comic books, short films, novels, and video games. Like the original DC Universe in comic books, the DCEU was established by crossing over common plot elements, settings, cast, and characters.
Warner Bros. had plans to bring various DC Comics superheroes together in films since 2002, when Wolfgang Petersen was set to direct a crossover of the Superman and Batman film franchises. After a planned Justice League film was put on hold in 2008 and initial universe plans were scrapped due to the critical and commercial disappointment of the 2011 film Green Lantern, Warner Bros. established this shared universe in 2013 with the film Man of Steel (2013), a reboot of the Superman film series, followed by Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), which also served as a reboot of the Batman film series.
This followed by twelve films and the release of Peacemaker, a television series for Max. In 2022, following the restructuring of DC Studios and the appointment of James Gunn and Peter Safran, a reboot of the franchise was announced. This reboot, planned by Gunn and Safran, included transitioning certain characters to the new DC Universe (DCU) franchise of films and television series. Following this announcement, existing DCEU films continued to be released, with Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom concluding the universe on December 22, 2023.
The DCEU is the ninth-highest-grossing film franchise of all time, having grossed over $6.7 billion at the global box office. Its highest-grossing film, Aquaman (2018), earned over $1.15 billion worldwide and became the highest-grossing DC Comics-based film to date. However, eight out of the other fifteen theatrically released films failed to break-even theatrically, being considered box-office bombs. Reception to the franchise was generally mixed among critics and fans.
Films
This is a list of the DC Extended Universe films from 2013 to 2023.
The series stars Henry Cavill, Gal Gadot, Jason Momoa, Ezra Miller, Ray Fisher, Jeremy Irons, Amy Adams, Jared Leto, Joe Morton, Connie Nielsen , Robin Wright, Amber Heard, Kevin Costner, Jesse Eisenberg, Laurence Fishburne, Diane Lane, Zachary Levi, Margot Robbie, Kristen Wiig, Chris Pine, Pedro Pascal, Mark Strong, Patrick Wilson, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Dulph Lungren, Temuera Morrison, Nicole Kidman, Joel Kinnaman, Jai Courtney, Viola Davis, Adam Beach, Will Smith, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jurnee Smolett, Rosie Perez, Chris Messina, Ella Jay Basco, Ali Wong and Ewan McGregor.
| # | Title | Release Date | Director | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Man of Steel | June 14, 2013 | Zack Snyder | Released |
| 2 | Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice | March 25, 2016 | ||
| 3 | Suicide Squad | August 5, 2016 | David Ayer | |
| 4 | Wonder Woman | June 2, 2017 | Patty Jenkins | |
| 5 | Justice League | November 17, 2017 | Zack Snyder | |
| 6 | Aquaman | December 21, 2018 | James Wan | |
| 7 | Shazam! | April 5, 2019 | David F. Sandberg | |
| 8 | Birds of Prey | February 7, 2020 | Cathy Yan | |
| 9 | Wonder Woman 1984 | December 25, 2020 | Patty Jenkins | |
| 10 | Zack Snyder's Justice League | March 18, 2021 | Zack Snyder | |
| 11 | The Suicide Squad | August 6, 2021 | James Gunn | |
| 12 | Black Adam | October 21, 2022 | Jaume Collet-Serra | |
| 13 | Shazam! Fury of the Gods | March 17, 2023 | David F. Sandberg | |
| 14 | The Flash | June 16, 2023 | Andy Muschietti | |
| 15 | Blue Beetle | August 18, 2023 | Angel Manuel Soto | |
| 16 | Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom | December 22, 2023 | James Wan |
Films in Development
- Amazons
- Black Canary
- Blackhawks
- Booster Gold
- Deadshot
- Gotham City Sirens
- Green Lantern Corps
- Hourman
- Lobo
- Nightwing
- Plastic Man
- Static Shock
- Supergirl
- Wonder Woman 3
- Zatanna
- The Metal Men
- Untitled James Gunn Film
Cancelled and Reworked Projects
- Ben Affleck's Batman
- Cyborg
- Deathstroke
- Harley Quinn vs. The Joker
- Joker
- Justice League Sequels
- Black Adam Vs. Superman
- Krypton
- New Gods
- Untitled Black Manta Film
- The Wonder Twins
- Batgirl
- Madame X
- Wonder Woman 3
- Man of Steel 2
- Crisis On Infinite Earths
- Batman Beyond
- Untitled Black Adam Sequel
Television Series
| # | Title | First Released | Last Released | Created by | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Peacemaker | January 13, 2022 | February 17, 2022 | James Gunn | Released |
| 2 | Justice League Dark | TBA | TBA | J.J. Abrams | In Development |
| 3 | Untitled John Constantine Series | ||||
| 4 | Untitled Superman Series | Michael B. Jordan |
See Also
- Batman (film series)
- Superman (film series)
- Batman Anthology
- The Dark Knight Trilogy
- Christopher Reeve Superman Series
- Swamp Thing (film series)
- Wonder Woman (film series)
- Shazam! (film series)
- Aquaman (film series)
- Suicide Squad (film series)
- Red (film series)
- Snyderverse
- Justice League (film series)
- DC Universe