Love it or hate it, the DC Extended Universe was a unique creation in the history of Hollywood: An ongoing series of interconnected franchises overseen, at least at its inception, not by an executive but a filmmaker: Zack Snyder, who launched the DCEU with his Man of Steel in 2013, and wound up directing three films in the franchise — four if you count his Zack Snyder’s Justice League director’s cut separately.
Snyder left the DC Extended Universe after that, and now that the franchise has given way to a new DC movie and TV universe overseen by James Gunn and Peter Safran, it’s fair to say that the DCEU never lived up to its full potential. The highs were high, but the lows were low. (Who could have predicted a movie called Wonder Woman 1984 would turn out feeling so dystopian?!?)
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As of this writing, there are still two DCEU movies due in theaters in the months ahead — Blue Beetle and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. But for all intents and purposes, the DCEU formally concludes with The Flash, a movie that was conceived as an in-story way to reconfigure this cinematic universe into something new.
While we wait for Gunn to fully unveil his own DC universe, let’s take stock of all 14 DCEU movies to date, which encompasses 10 different DC franchises and no less than four sequels (five once Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom comes out). I’m not sure I would say I will miss this cinematic universe when it’s officially gone. But I’ll give it this much: Through all the ups and downs, it was never boring.
Every DCEU Movie Ranked From Worst to Best
From Man of Steel to The Flash, we ranked every movie in the DC Extended Universe.
Actors Who Turned Down DC Roles
These major stars could have played some of your favorite DC Comics’ heroes onscreen. But they all said no for one reason or another.