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Which DC Movies Belong to Elseworlds?


Not only has the DC Universe been all over the place in terms of quality since its inception with Man of Steel (2013) 10 years ago, it's also been very confusing where continuity is concerned. And now that The Flash (2023) is set to literally "reset" the DC Universe, understandably, we're even more confused. And what exactly is DC's Elseworlds?!

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The Flash will reset the continuity first established in Man of Steel, which continued with the following films:

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), Suicide Squad (2016), Justice League (2017), Wonder Woman (2017), Aquaman (2018), Shazam! (2019), Birds of Prey (2020), Wonder Woman 1984 (2020), The Suicide Squad (2021), and Black Adam (2022).

That might seem straight forward, sure, but let's not forget Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021) cut, which de-canonizes Joss Whedon's 2017 version. While a vastly superior film, it only really added to the mess that is the DCU.

So you can see why DC Studios' co-CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran are now resetting the DCU, and what better place to do it than with the Multiverse-shattering film The Flash, which is due in theaters this summer.

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Related: Will Any Tim Burton or Joel Schumacher Batman Villains Appear In The Flash?

Last month, Gunn took to YouTube via the official DC channel to explain what's happening, and how the "new" DC timeline will start anew while retaining some elements of the current continuity.

He also explained what DC's Elseworlds is, and what this means for other DC films that don't fit into the DCU whatsoever, such as Todd Phillip's Joker (2019) and Matt Reeves' The Batman (2022).

Check out James Gunn's full DC announcement below:

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So, DC Elseworlds will be a "dumping ground" of sorts for films that are not designed to form part of the wider DC Universe, which will, of course, extend to the upcoming sequels to The Batman and Joker, and may even already include Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Trilogy.

However, it's not entirely clear what's happening with the television side of things. DC is indeed very disconnected at present, and as Gunn explains, their plan is to bring the films and television shows together, but whether or not that's something else The Flash can help with remains to be seen.

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It's also unclear how upcoming DCU films will form part of the new continuity. Shazam! Fury of the Gods, Blue Beetle, and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom will all be hitting theaters in the foreseeable future.

Gunn explains that Shazam! Fury of the Gods "moves into" The Flash, which will lead into "Blue Beetle", which will lead into "Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom". So while The Flash is set to hit the reset button, perhaps we have a while to wait before the new DCU timeline begins.

The first chapter in Gunn and Safran's new DCU timeline will be titled "Gods and Monsters". Projects within that chapter are listed in the above video.

Check out the official trailer for The Flash below:

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The Flash releases in theaters on June 16. As per Wikipedia, here's the synopsis for the film:

Barry Allen/The Flash travels back in time to prevent his mother's murder, which traps him in an alternate reality without metahumans. He enlists the help of Batman and the Kryptonian castaway Supergirl from alternate realities in order to save this world from the restored General Zod and return to his universe.

The Flash stars Ezra Miller (Barry Allen/The Flash), Sasha Calle (Kara Zor-El/Supergirl), Michael Shannon (General Zod), Ron Livingston (Henry Allen), Michael Keaton (Bruce Wayne/Batman), and Ben Affleck (Bruce Wayne/Batman).

Check out the official Warner Bros. The Flash hub here.

For more articles like this, take a look at our The Flash, DC, Movies, and Queries pages.