Wonder Woman timeline: How to watch the Wonder Woman movies in order

Of course, Wonder Woman 1984 is a sequel to the original Wonder Woman movie – but oddly, despite being made later it’s also a prequel to Batman vs Superman and Justice League, both of which take place decades later than the new film’s action.

In other words, though we didn’t know it at the time when Diana was battling Doomsday and Steppenwolf, she might well have been reminiscing about that time she fought a weird Cheetah lady in the 1980s.

So how do all the Wonder Woman films fit together, and what’s the correct order to watch them in? We try to lay it all out for you here…

When is Wonder Woman set?

The original Wonder Woman, released in 2017, was set mostly in 1918 during World War One (barring an opening and closing scene set in the present day and some childhood flashbacks), meaning the whole thing took place almost a century before Wonder Woman appears in Batman vs Superman.

Interesting, the “flashforward” scenes in this film concerning Diana’s mourning for Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) are also set after 1984, so fans may assume that Steve’s storyline in Wonder Woman 1984 is also (retroactively) in Diana’s thoughts here.

When is Wonder Woman 1984 set?

Well, the clue’s in the title. The never-ageing Diana has spent almost 70 years working on Earth by the time of the new sequel, we see her confront the excesses of the 1980s while still striving to keep her identity a secret (thus explaining why nobody knew about her before Batman vs Superman).

Whether “shushing” little girls and destroying security cameras would really erase the footprint of a superwoman with a glowing lasso is another matter, but it certainly seemed to work for Diana in the movie.

What is the Wonder Woman chronological timeline?

If you want to know what order the films featuring Wonder Woman take place in it's fairly simple, as laid out below.

1. Wonder Woman (2017) – rent or buy now on Amazon Prime Video
2. Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)
3. Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) – rent or buy now on Amazon Prime Video
4. Justice League (2017) – rent or buy now on Amazon Prime Video

This ordering is pretty simple, and will presumably still apply when Zack Snyder’s recut Justice League is released in 2021.

Still, if you want to be a little more complicated, we can break it down further.

• For the latest news and expert tips on getting the best deals this year, take a look at our Black Friday 2021 and Cyber Monday 2021 guides.

Wonder Woman extended timeline

If we break down every different time period from Diana’s life seen on screen, things get a little more complicated.

1. Wonder Woman (2017) flashbacks to Diana’s youth at 8 years old
2. Wonder Woman 1984 (2020) separate flashbacks to Diana’s youth
3. Wonder Woman (2017) flashbacks to Diana’s youth at 12 years old
4. Wonder Woman (2017) main story
5. Wonder Woman 1984 (2020) main story
6. Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)
7. Wonder Woman (2017) present-day flashforward
8. Justice League (2017)

Though we imagine this watching experience might be tricky to achieve without a few TVs running at the same time...

Wonder Woman movies order

If you’re looking for what order to watch the Wonder Woman movies in, there are a couple of options – the first and most obvious is the release order, which is as follows:

1. Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) – rent or buy now on Amazon Prime Video
2. Wonder Woman (2017) – rent or buy now on Amazon Prime Video
3. Justice League (2017) – rent or buy now on Amazon Prime Video
4. Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)
5. And as a bonus – Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021), which Gadot has apparently filmed some new scenes for.

So there you have it – so many options for how to enjoy Diana’s story now that the new film is released. Live her life alongside her, experience it as the filmmakers intended or do some combination of the two.

And who knows? If there’s a third Wonder Woman movie coming soon, it could be that Diana will soon visit even more intriguing timelines for us to slot in here…

Wonder Woman 1984 is in UK cinemas now, and comes to the US in cinemas and on HBO Max on December 25th. Want something else to watch? Check out our full TV Guide.