The Justice League heroes may be the stars of the DCEU, but the history that brought them together stretches back thousands of years. Across the planet Krypton, through ancient Greek mythology, and to a time when Atlantis was the most advanced society above water, the timeline of the DC movies may seem too ancient to identify using specific years. But Man of Steel, Wonder Woman, and Justice League have all given enough evidence to create one massive chain of events. And with Aquaman and Shazam! adding the final pieces of the puzzle, a solid DCEU timeline is taking shape.

Fans may be suspicious of a concrete DCEU timeline, since many of the films never actually make their exact year known, let alone relevant to the story. But as the movies multiply, the approximate dates have been narrowed down. Even if it feels like any ancient empire or dynasty in the DCEU is measured in “thousands of years” to be intentionally vague, Wonder Woman and Aquaman have locked in a more complete picture. And surprise: some of that history is nowhere near as ancient as fans might assume.

For now, the DC movie universe is easy enough to lay out from beginning to end, at least where the films’ “modern” periods are set. So to start with dates everyone can agree on before diving into the past, the modern Era of the DCEU and its biggest events are confirmed to take place in the canon timeline as such:

  • 1918: Wonder Woman 1984: Wonder Woman 1984 2013: Man of Steel 2015: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice 2016: Suicide Squad 2016: Justice League 2016-2017: Aquaman 2019: Shazam!

That’s the DCEU timeline so far, but every new movie is guaranteed to bring new events and parallel storylines to light. And if the newly released Shazam! is any indication, the mythology of DC’s biggest heroes is going to be expanded in not only the present day, or the future, but in the ancient history, with new figures and formative events being introduced only when their stories are necessary. Based purely on the films already released, and ones reportedly in development, the history of the New Gods, Apokolips, New Genesis, Atlantis, Themyscira, and perhaps even Krypton are still subject to change.

What makes it so difficult to accept one timeline as canon is that films like Man of Steel, Wonder Woman, and Aquaman have all relied on the “accepted story” being revealed as not the whole truth. That being said, putting together a concrete timeline based on what Aquaman adds to the history of King Atlan, the Atlantean Empire and the sinking of the city is no easy task. Which is why we’re breaking it down into one DCEU timeline for fans who need to know.

  • This Page: The Movie Events in The DCEU Timeline Page 2: The Ancient History of the DCEU Page 3: The Modern DCEU Takes Shape Page 4: The Age of The Justice League Begins

Page 2 of 4: The Beginning of The DCEU Timeline

The Ancient History of the DCEU

DC’s movie universe has taken shape thanks to a variety of different heroes, writers, and directors, but one thing remains the same in every single one of them. Not a structure, style, or even tone, but an overwhelming sense that the film’s hero is almost instantly out of their depths. Their journey to greatness may only be beginning, but the conflicts and enemies they encounter have been in motion for thousands of years, long before the current DC heroes were even born. And while that approach has given the impression of a massive, epic, and nuanced timeline stretching back into ancient history… it also means fans may have a hard time remembering whose ancient people went to war with whom, first.

From Steppenwolf to Suicide Squad, here is the best approximation we have of the timeline of the ancient DCEU:

Page 3 of 4: The Modern DCEU Takes Shape

The Modern DCEU Takes Shape

The 20th Century events that planted seeds for the coming Justice League universe are easy enough to track, and won’t cause too much confusion (although seeing how closely key events in the Leaguers’ lives overlap will be a bit of a thrill). It’s the first centuries and the first two millennia of the Common Era that will prove a bit controversial.

Some of our dates may seem to contradict existing fan timelines, but as we said above, the assumed dates and spans of centuries are starting to be corrected faster than some fans might like. We’re basing our timeline purely on what the storytellers themselves have explained, what the characters offer up for timeline details in-universe, and what the films’ mythology states about its own ancient (or Middle Ages) happenings.

In other words, prepare to have some of your assumptions about the DCEU’s more recent history blown away, in our compiled timeline:

Page 4 of 4: The Age of The Justice League Begins

The Age of Justice League Begins

At long last, we can leave the earliest, prehistoric (for the rest of the world) days of the DCEU behind, and shift from a time when key events were millennia apart to the modern age, when entire world-changing events happen in the span of months, not years. It is here, in the wake of wonder Woman putting an end to Ares and giving mankind their future back, that the DC heroes we know best begin to emerge. And for those who prefer their timelines confined only to the times in which the movies release, it’s the point at which the major, movie-featured moments start dropping left and right. It may have taken the history of the world to unite the Justice League, but the time spent building out the past of DCEU’s cosmic side was worth it.

It wasn’t Superman’s intention to trigger a new wave of heroes just by stepping into the spotlight, but if general Zod’s hope was to prove Earth was weak, his insistence on Superman announcing himself to the world certainly backfired. Wonder Woman stopped hiding from her true calling, The Flash, and Aquaman were all next to follow suit, being drawn out due to their lineage as the descendants of those ancient tribes who fought off Steppenwolf the first time around. The biggest moments from this section of the timeline will be most familiar to movie fans, since a majority of them are shown on-screen.

That being said, the films only show one character at a time, without highlighting how one formative moment or trauma in the life of a future Justice League hero falls in relation to their future teammates. Some satisfying, possibly even poetic comparisons and contrasts become visible when folded into one massive narrative. We’ll spare details where these dates are clear, but see for yourself how the last half-century of the DCEU took shape, step by step:

  • 1974 - Thaddeus Sivana Summoned & Rejected By Shazam 1980 - The Death of Krypton, Kal-El Survives 1981 - The Death of The Waynes, Bruce Survives 1982 - STAR Labs Acquires The Mother Box: “US Gov Object 61982” accepted as the year of acquisition. 1984 - Wonder Woman Discovers a New Threat 1985 - Arthur Curry is Born 1988 - Clark Kent Discovers His Powers 1994 - Victor Stone is Born 1995 - The Batman is Born: Based on Bruce’s claim of “twenty years” as vigilante. 2004 - Billy Batson is Born 2010 - Harley Quinn & Joker Kill Robin: As shown on Harley’s Suicide Squad rap sheet. 2013 - Superman Kills General Zod 2015 - Superman is Killed 2016 - The Suicide Squad Saves Earth From Evil Gods 2016 - The Justice League Saves Earth From New Gods 2016 - Aquaman & Mera Save Earth From Ocean Master 2019 - The Shazam Family Saves Earth From The Seven Sins

Looking at the bigger picture developing here, the stakes have certainly been elevated with the coming of this age of heroes. We can only hope that the future of the DCEU will somehow return to a period of relative calm after so many threats to life on Earth as we know it. But somehow… we doubt that Warner Bros. and DC Films are going to take their foot of the pedal any time soon.

This timeline is sure to be adjusted, expanded, and hopefully locked into place as more films are released within DC’s shared universe. When they are, we’ll do our best to keep the DCEU Timeline complete, and updated with the latest canonical information for the comic book fans who share Bruce Wayne’s own affection for a paper trail.

More: What Aquaman’s Success (or Failure) Means For The DCEU

  • Aquaman Release Date: 2018-12-21