The complete Elseworlds timeline: Every DC project outside James Gunn’s main universe explained so far

Elseworlds is where the DC multiverse lives and breathes through countless timelines and worlds. While James Gunn’s new DCU brings a bold, unified vision, Elseworlds stands as a space where imagination runs wild and artists take the wheel without cosmic restrictions.

This label celebrates stories that refuse to fit inside a single universe, giving us brutal Jokers, haunted Batmen, and alternate Supermen that echo like urban legends across the comic cosmos. Every one of these projects feels like a rare comic pulled from a hidden shelf, glowing with potential and daring to exist on its own terms.

Through these works, DC celebrates its heritage of boundless realms, encouraging enthusiasts to delve into shadows, harmonies, and warped reflections. Welcome to the universe outside canon, where anything may occur and each story counts.

Batman: a noir saga apart

Among all Elseworlds creations, The Batman stands as a gothic monument. Matt Reeves carved a vision of Gotham that drips with rain, neon, and unending dread. Robert Pattinson’s Batman emerges not as a polished billionaire savior but as a bruised detective prowling a city that feels like a living wound.

The Batman: Part II, set for October 2027, continues this raw, investigative journey. The delay only fuels the legend, giving more space for its shadows to grow deeper and its villains to become even more operatic.

The Penguin series, starring Colin Farrell, expands this world with blood, greed, and ambition, peeling away Gotham’s underworld in a way no film has fully dared before. Other planned spin-offs, including the rumored Arkham Asylum series, keep this corner of the non-canon alive as a swirling noir epic where crime poetry replaces heroic myth.

Joker: the anarchic Elseworld

If Batman’s Elseworlds setting resembles an opera of sorrow and rain, then Joker’s domain is a blazing cabaret of anarchy. Joker (2019) surpassed anticipations with a believable, almost documentary-like exploration of madness. Joaquin Phoenix navigated elegantly through alleys and transit hubs, turning Arthur Fleck into an embodiment of mesmerizing danger.

Joker: Folie à Deux, launched in October 2024, amplified this surreal journey. With Lady Gaga portraying Harley Quinn, the sequel features musical elements and quirky romance, transforming Gotham into a ghostly stage.

The Joker's space in this alternative timeline stands apart not by gadgets or grand schemes but by its unfiltered obsession with the human mind at its breaking point. Here, the villain isn’t a foil for a hero; he becomes a mirror for a society that laughs while it crumbles.

Superman and other experiments

Beyond the shadows of Gotham and the echoes of Joker’s laughter, Elseworlds holds space for new interpretations of Superman and other icons. The new Superman endeavor from J.J. Abrams and Ta-Nehisi Coates represents a daring commitment to re-envision the Man of Steel beyond James Gunn’s cohesive DCU.

This movie is still in initial development, enveloped in speculation and artistic confidentiality. Its goal is to investigate various cultural perspectives and profound emotional aspects, demonstrating that even the most recognized heroes can experience a transformation in surprising manners.

This label of the DC multiverse also hosts various animated experiments, brief specials, and periodic standalone projects that explore the limits of what DC characters can be. Each attempt extends the invitation to dream wilder and push every symbol past its comfort zone.

Animated Elseworlds: pure freedom

In animation, the label feels like a playground with no fences. Teen Titans Go! stands as the loudest example, a colorful, irreverent celebration of these characters without the weight of continuity. It thrives on pop culture jokes, unexpected crossovers, and gleeful chaos, proving that freedom can be just as iconic as canon.

Beyond that, projects like Batman: Caped Crusader promise to dive into darker, more stylized visions. These animated stories explore everything from retro noir to wild comedic worlds, all without needing to fit into a single shared map.

Animation under Elseworlds becomes a living sketchbook, each line daring to redraw familiar legends with new humor, heartbreak, and possibility.

A living and shifting multiverse

Elseworlds pulses like a secret artery running beneath the DCU. It allows creators to stretch, shatter, and rebuild icons without answering to a single storyline. Each endeavor under this label transforms into a gateway for fresh anxieties, new aspirations, and emerging legends ready to be created.

By embracing noir detectives, rebellious clowns, reshaped Kryptonians, and joyful Titans, DC demonstrates that its legacy thrives not in strict timelines but in the bravery to innovate.

As fans, we observe this changing array of realms flourish and clash, each radiating its unique bold character. Elseworlds serves as a timeless invitation to venture beyond the known and explore what heroes and villains may evolve into when no boundaries constrain them.