On May 5th 2020, Justice League Dark: Apokolips War arrives on digital platforms. The movie is being described as the culmination of an epic animated journey, which incorporates multiple films, including those featuring Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and the Justice League.

All of the films within this universe are inspired by DC Comics’ New 52 era of stories. Not every film is directly linked, but they are all part of the same series.

In this post I am presenting the best viewing order to watch the films that lead up to Justice League Dark: Apokolips War. Below you will find a list of every film you should watch, including additional suggestions to enhance the experience.

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The best order to watch DC’s Apokolips War films in order

Image: ©Warner Bros./DC Entertainment

The road to Apokolips War tentatively begins in 2013 with the film, Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox. In this film, Barry Allen (aka the Flash), wakes up in an alternate reality and he must work out a way to reset the universe.

While Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox is largely a Flash-orientated picture, and not necessarily key to Apokolips War, the post-credit scene introduces Parademons, which in turn teases the arrival of Darkseid – the chief villain of Apokolips War. I would suggest watching this film as a primer to what is to come.

Image: ©Warner Bros./DC Entertainment

From this point on, the series runs through Justice League: War (2014), Son of Batman (2014), Justice League: Throne of Atlantis (2015), Batman vs. Robin (2015), Batman: Bad Blood (2016), Justice League vs. Teen Titans (2016), Justice League Dark (2017), Teen Titans: The Judas Contract (2017) and Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay (2018). Not all of the films are connected, but they are all part of the same universe.

The next film is Constantine: City of Demons – an entry which I have included, but others might overlook. Constantine: City of Demons was created as a spin-off of Justice League Dark and is therefore part of the same universe as all of the other entries on this list.  

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Image: ©Warner Bros./DC Entertainment

The reason it might get overlooked is because Constantine: City of Demons originated as a webseries, not as a movie, and was initially released on The CW’s online streaming platform, CW Seed. However, it was later released as a movie on DVD/Blu-ray and can be slotted into this universe.

Following on from Constantine: City of Demons, the story continues with The Death of Superman (2018), Reign of the Supermen (2019), Batman: Hush (2019) and Wonder Woman: Bloodlines (2019). Once you have reached this stage, you are now ready to watch Justice League Dark: Apokolips War (2020).

Image: ©Warner Bros./DC Entertainment
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Here is the best order to watch the Apokolips War films:

  • Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox (2013)
  • Justice League: War (2014)
  • Son of Batman (2014)
  • Justice League: Throne of Atlantis (2015) + Nightwing and Robin animated short
  • Batman vs. Robin (2015)
  • Batman: Bad Blood (2016)
  • Justice League vs. Teen Titans (2016)
  • Justice League Dark (2017)
  • Teen Titans: The Judas Contract (2017)
  • Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay (2018)
  • Constantine: City of Demons (2018)
  • The Death of Superman (2018)
  • Reign of the Supermen (2019)
  • Batman: Hush (2019)
  • Wonder Woman: Bloodlines (2019)
  • Justice League Dark: Apokolips War (2020) + Constantine: The House of Mystery animated short
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I hope this guide to DC’s Apokolips War/New 52 series is useful. The above list should help you navigate your way through the films in order to reach Justice League Dark: Apokolips War.

Should you wish to read similar posts, please take a look around I’ll Get Drive-Thru. Alternatively, please check out one of the recommended reads below.

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