From 2013 to 2020, the DC Animated Movie Universe chronicled a shared continuity that was chiefly inspired by the New 52, yet featured a mix of original stories and adaptations of stories from decades worth of DC Comics' source material. The film series that kicked off with Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox officially concluded in May 2020 with Justice League: Apokolips War after 16 movies. While the 2022 short film Constantine: The House of Mystery served as a nice coda to this era (and teased that we might revisit it someday), a new animated, shared continuity had launched by October 2020, that’s now referred to as the Tomorrowverse.
With the DCEU now over and the new DC Universe launching on the near future on the live-action cinematic front, fans of DC’s animated movies can look forward to the Tomorrowverse continuing for the foreseeable future. So, let’s go over the timeline of this particular continuity, though before going further, it is important to note that this list will only cover the full-length movies in the Tomorrowverse. If you ever decide to go through the entirety of this shared universe, however, remember that the short films Adam Strange and Kamandi: The Last Boy on Earth! take place within it.
Superman: Man Of Tomorrow
The Tomorrowverse gets its name from the movie that launched this timeline, Superman: Man of Tomorrow. This take on the Man of Steel’s origin sees Darren Criss’ Clark Kent clashing with villains like Lex Luthor and Parasite, as well as the alien bounty hunter Lobo, shortly after arriving in Metropolis to begin his job as a reporter for The Daily Planet, and start getting a handle on being a superhero.
Obviously, this movie is chiefly meant to give Criss’ Superman a platform to shine, and does a fine job doing so, but it also lays a little groundwork for the larger Tomorrowverse by having him meet J’onn J’onzz, a.k.a. Martian Manhunter, one of his future Justice League teammates.
Justice Society: World War II
While Man of Tomorrow was largely a standalone affair, Justice Society: World War II delivers the Tomorrowverse’s first full-blown team-up story. After joining forces with Superman to fight Brainiac in Metropolis, Matt Bomer’s Barry Allen, a.k.a. the present day Flash, accidentally ends up in World War II and meets the Justice Society, which consists of Wonder Woman, Black Canary, Hawkman, Hourman and the Jay Garrick incarnation of Flash.
While I won’t spoil all of the movie’s secrets, it’s important to mention that rather than having simply gone back in time, Barry actually traveled to another reality. So, with just the second Tomorrowverse movie, this franchise is already playing around with the expansive DC multiverse.
Batman: The Long Halloween
Batman: The Long Halloween adapts the same-named story by Jeph Loeb and the late Tim Sale across two movies, though you can watch both parts across one runtime by checking out the Deluxe Edition. While these movies largely follow the same flow of the original Long Halloween, i.e. showing Jensen Ackles’ version of the Caped Crusader chasing down the serial killer known as Holiday, and chronicling how Gotham City district attorney Harvey Dent, voiced by Josh Duhamel, becomes Two-Face, there are some notable differences to surprise even those who’ve read the original story.
Fun fact, the Long Halloween film adaptation was originally supposed to be the first Tomorrowverse entry, but as CinemaBlend learned from producer Butch Lukic, The Batman’s release plans resulted in it being delayed.
Green Lantern: Beware My Power
The Tomorrowverse’s Justice League is officially assembled when we get to Green Lantern: Beware My Power, which follows Aldis Hodge’s John Stewart being chosen as Earth’s new Green Lantern. He soon gets in contact with the superhero team, with the presented members in this movie being Martian Manhunter, Vixen and Green Arrow.
The latter accompanies John to the ravaged Oa to learn that the Green Lantern Corps has been wiped out, and soon thereafter, they get thrown into the middle of the Rann-Thanagarian War, which brings them into contact with Hawkgirl and Adam Strange. On top of all that, Beware My Power also has our heroes facing off against the Sinestro Corps and learning what happened to John’s predecessor, Hal Jordan.
Legion Of Super-Heroes
Although we get a little Justice League action in Legion of Super-Heroes when Superman, Batman and Flash arrive to help Kara Danvers, a.k.a. Supergirl, battle a gun-toting Solomon Grundy and uncover a deeper conspiracy, this movie’s chief purpose is to team Kara up with the title superhero team.
Feeling she would benefit from being around people her age who also have powers, and in a society more reminiscent of Krypton’s, Superman sends his cousin to the 31st century to train at Legion Academy. In the midst of her education and meeting characters like Brainiac 5 and Mon-El, however, the Girl of Steel learns that the school is being targeted by an organization called The Dark Circle.
Justice League: Warworld
The first R-rated Tomorrowverse installment finally delivered this continuity's first Justice League-centric story… or rather, one focused on the team’s three most famous members. Along with Darren Criss and Jensen Ackles respectively reprising Superman and Batman, Justice League: Warworld brings back Stana Katic as Wonder Woman, though this time, she’s playing the version from the Tomorrowverse’s main Earth.
The DC Trinity find themselves at the titular location, which is described as a “place of unending brutal gladiatorial combat.” Although initially separated from one another and forced into different simulations, the trio eventually reunites to form a resistance and lead the planet’s captive inhabitants to freedom.
Justice League: Crisis On Infinite Earths
After just six movies, the Tomorrowverse has delved into adapting arguably DC Comics' most well-known crossover event: Crisis on Infinite Earths, which had previously been done by the Arrowverse. Just like in its source material, this animated version, which features an A+ voice cast, sees The Monitor recruiting heroes from across different universes to save the multiverse from an antimatter armageddon instigated by the Anti-Monitor.
Rather than try to squeeze all of Crisis on Infinite Earths into just one movie, the Tomorrowverse is wisely spreading out the tale across three movies. Part One was released in January 2024, and the other two parts will follow later in the same year. It remains to be seen if any versions of DC characters from past animated movies and TV shows will appear in this trilogy, but it has been confirmed that these Crisis movies are concluding the Tomorrowverse.
Keep checking back here to learn about the other movies that will be added to the Tomorrowverse in the years to come. If you’re curious about what other DC goodies are on the way, that information can be found in our upcoming DC movies and upcoming DC TV shows guides. Also remember that you can stream plenty of other DC content, including most of the Tomorrowverse movies, with a Max subscription.
