Tomorrowverse | |
---|---|
Based on | Characters by DC Comics |
Production companies | |
Distributed by | Warner Bros. Home Entertainment |
Release date | 2020–24 |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Tomorrowverse[1] is the name given to an American media franchise and shared universe produced by DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation, and based on characters appearing in DC Comics publications. The franchise began with Superman: Man of Tomorrow (2020) and is scheduled to end in 2024.[2]
The franchise is produced by Jim Kreig and Kimberly S. Moreau. As part of the DC Universe Animated Original Movies line, it is the successor and soft reboot of the DC Animated Movie Universe (DCAMU), with specific continuity details such as storylines being acknowledged from the prior franchise.
Pre-production of the Tomorrowverse began a few years ago when Butch Lukic and Jim Krieg decided to plan out a ten-film story arc that would be set after the events of Justice League Dark: Apokolips War (2020), which ends the DCAMU with a universal reset. The story arc itself originally was not planned to have the Crisis on Infinite Earths storyline as a major plot point, but these plans were eventually changed once executives from Warner Bros. Animation asked for it to serve as the finale.[3]
Lukic and Krieg were also unaware of the Arrowverse's plans for their own adaptation at the time and only found out when Eric Carrasco contacted them, since he served as a writer for Justice League vs. the Fatal Five (2019) and knew them personally.[4] The franchise would eventually be named after Superman: Man of Tomorrow (2020) once it was released, which serves as the first film in the series, with the art style and storyline being carried over to further films that were set in the same continuity.[5]
The short film Constantine: The House of Mystery (2022) would also act as a coda to the previous DCAMU franchise, which continues certain story elements and helps set up the Crisis on Infinite Earths plotline,[6][failed verification] which was later confirmed to be a three-part storyline and serve as a conclusion to the Tomorrowverse with all the remaining films being scheduled to release in 2024.[7]
Film | U.S. release date | Director | Writer(s) | Producer(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Superman: Man of Tomorrow | August 23, 2020 | Chris Palmer | Tim Sheridan | Jim Krieg and Kimberly S. Moreau |
Justice Society: World War II | April 27, 2021 | Jeff Wamester | Meghan Fitzmartin and Jeremy Adams | |
Batman: The Long Halloween | June 22, 2021 (Part One) July 27, 2021 (Part Two) September 20, 2022 (Deluxe Edition) |
Chris Palmer | Tim Sheridan | |
Green Lantern: Beware My Power | July 25, 2022 | Jeff Wamester | Ernie Altbacker and John Semper | Jim Krieg and Sam Register |
Legion of Super-Heroes | February 7, 2023 | Josie Campbell | Butch Lukic, Jim Krieg, & Kimberly S. Moreau | |
Justice League: Warworld | July 25, 2023 | Jeremy Adams, Ernie Altbacker, and Josie Campbell | Jim Krieg and Kimberly S. Moreau | |
Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part One | January 9, 2024 | Jim Krieg | ||
Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part Two | April 23, 2024[8] |
Main article: Superman: Man of Tomorrow |
Kryptonian survivor Kal-El/Clark Kent (Darren Criss) is confronted by the alien bounty hunter Lobo (Ryan Hurst) while a new threat in the form of Parasite (Brett Dalton) sets its sight for Metropolis.[9]
Main article: Justice Society: World War II |
Barry Allen/The Flash (Matt Bomer) accidentally travels back in time and gets involved in the ongoing second World War alongside the metahuman team called the Justice Society of America.[10]
Main article: Batman: The Long Halloween (film) |
Gotham City based vigilante Batman (Jensen Ackles) teams up with district attorney Harvey Dent (Josh Duhamel) and Gotham City Police Department Captain James Gordon (Billy Burke) to investigate a new serial killer coined "Holiday" who only kills on holidays.[11]
Main article: Green Lantern: Beware My Power |
Marine veteran John Stewart (Aldis Hodge) is chosen to become a Green Lantern and is drawn into the middle of a Rann-Thanagar War joined by Justice League member Green Arrow (Jimmi Simpson), the Thanagarian Shayera Hol (Jamie Gray Hyder), and presumably deceased Rannian hero Adam Strange (Brian Bloom).
Main article: Legion of Super-Heroes (film) |
Superman sends his cousin Kara Zor-El/Supergirl (Meg Donnelly) to the 31st century where she is recruited into the Legion of Super-Heroes so that she can belong all while investigating a terrorist organization called the Dark Circle.
Main article: Justice League: Warworld |
Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman are placed in alternate realities after being taken hostage by Mongul on the planet Warworld.
Main articles: Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part One and Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part Two |
Part One follows their rescue from Warworld, Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman and the rest of the Justice League must unite with the Justice Society and other heroes of parallel Earths, gathered by the Monitor, to prepare for the Crisis that was foretold by Harbinger.[12][13]
Part Two reveal shows a shocking backstory for Supergirl becoming the Harbinger after a near-death encounter with the Monitor during Krypton's destruction. This sparks the Monitor to break his oath of non-interference and assemble heroes across realities. However, the villainous Psycho-Pirate sows discord by manipulating heroes' minds, forcing the Justice League to battle not just the encroaching anti-matter wave but a fractured trust within their own ranks.
Film | U.S. release date | Director(s) | Writer(s) |
---|---|---|---|
Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part Three | July 16, 2024 | Jeff Wamester | TBA |
Main article: DC Showcase: Adam Strange |
Adam Strange is a direct-to-video animated short featuring the titular character searching for his daughter during the war between his people the Rannians and the Thanagarians. Charlie Weber voices Strange with the short being released on May 19, 2020 in the home media release of Justice League Dark: Apokolips War. Director Butch Lukic later confirmed in an interview that this short is connected to Green Lantern: Beware My Power despite the recasting of the character in the film.[14]
Kamandi: The Last Boy on Earth! is a direct-to-video animated short featuring the character Kamandi. He and his friends are captured by a gorilla cult dedicated to finding a reincarnation of their god, the Mighty One. Cameron Monaghan voices Kamandi, with the film being released on April 27, 2021 in the home media release of Justice Society: World War II.[15]
Jeremy Adams confirmed that the short connects with Justice Society: World War II. Kamandi also made a cameo appearence in Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths.[16]
This section includes characters who will appear or have appeared in noteworthy roles.
Title | Critical | |
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Rotten Tomatoes | IGN | |
Superman: Man of Tomorrow | 93% (14 reviews)[17] | 7/10[18] |
Justice Society: World War II | 76% (17 reviews)[19] | 9/10[20] |
Batman: The Long Halloween – Part One | 100% (21 reviews)[21] | 8/10[22] |
Batman: The Long Halloween – Part Two | 100% (15 reviews)[23] | 9/10[24] |
Green Lantern: Beware My Power | 56% (9 reviews)[25] | 4/10[26] |
Legion of Super-Heroes | 60% (5 reviews)[27] | — |
Justice League: Warworld | 50% (6 reviews)[28] | 6/10[29] |
Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part One | 88% (8 reviews)[30] | 6/10[31] |