What is the best order to watch the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) movies?

With so many Batman and DC movies available to stream it can often be difficult to keep track. What films belong to what series and in which order should they be watched?

In this post I am taking a look at the movies that fall within the DC Extended Universe or DCEU as it is often referred to. These films are all part of a connected series that includes a number of Batman films, so what is the correct sequence to view them?

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What are the movies in the DCEU?

Here is a list of all the live-action movies that feature in the DC Extended Universe:

• Man of Steel (2013)
• Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)
• Suicide Squad (2016)
• Wonder Woman (2017)
• Justice League (2017)
• Aquaman (2018)
• Shazam (2019)
• Birds of Prey (2020)
• Wonder Woman 84 (2021)
• The Suicide Squad (2021)
• Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2022)
• Black Adam (2022)
• The Flash (2023)
• Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2022)
• Batgirl (2023)

The films above are listed in production order and I will continue to update this list with each new entry. However, while the list above demonstrates the order in which the films first hit cinema screens, it does not reflect the timeline of the DCEU (aka the viewing order).

For example, 2017’s Wonder Woman is largely set during the events of World War I, which pre-dates the events of Man of Steel by almost 100 years. Technically, Wonder Woman is told in flashback, but for the best part the movie is set in 1918, so it should come first. Likewise, Wonder Woman 84 takes place in the 1980s, also pre-dating Man of Steel.

So, should you watch these movies before Man of Steel? That is up to you, but if you want to watch the films in chronological order then you should flip them around a little (see below).

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What is the timeline order for the DCEU?

Taking into consideration what I have stated above, the timeline viewing order for the DCEU is:

• Wonder Woman (2017)
• Wonder Woman 84 (2020)
• Man of Steel (2013)
• Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)
• Suicide Squad (2016)
• Justice League (2017)
• Aquaman (2018)
• Shazam (2019)
• Birds of Prey (2020)
• The Suicide Squad (2021)
• Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2022)
• Black Adam (2022)
• The Flash (2023)
• Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2022)
• Batgirl (2023)

If you watch the DCEU movies in this order you will see (the majority) of events play out in chronological order. There will be a slight discrepancy with a few scenes in Wonder Woman, but for the large part you will have a timeline.

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I do hope this information has been useful. If you would like to know more about the order to watch the Batman movies (i.e. all of the Batman films – not just those that appear in the DCEU) then check out my post: ‘Can the Batman movies be watched in any order?’

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