The Lego Batman Movie

Always be yourself... unless you can be Batman.

RELEASED 8 Feb 20171h 44m★ 7.3 TMDB

A cooler-than-ever Batman must face the usual villains as the Joker plots a takeover of Gotham City. But when Bruce Wayne accidentally adopts a teenage orphan who wishes to become his sidekick, he’s forced to give up his lone-vigilante ways and learn to work with others.

Why it matters in DC

Bruce Wayne's accidental adoption of a would-be sidekick makes his relationship with others central to the comedy. The film uses an exaggerated Batman to examine the tension between his self-sufficient image and the possibility of belonging to a family.

Watch these first

4 titles to watch before The Lego Batman Movie — 5h 53m in total.

Batman: The Killing JokeOptional background1h 17m★ 6.6
A separate adaptation of Batman and The Joker and Batgirl; useful for comparison, but unrelated to The Lego Batman Movie’s story continuity.
Suicide SquadOptional background2h 2m★ 5.9
A separate adaptation of The Flash and Harley Quinn and The Joker; useful for comparison, but unrelated to The Lego Batman Movie’s story continuity.
Batman: Return of the Caped CrusadersOptional background1h 18m★ 6.5
A separate adaptation of Batman and The Joker and Catwoman and Robin & Nightwing; useful for comparison, but unrelated to The Lego Batman Movie’s story continuity.
Justice League DarkOptional background1h 16m★ 7.3
A separate adaptation of Batman and Superman and Green Lantern; useful for comparison, but unrelated to The Lego Batman Movie’s story continuity.

Opens the planner with just these titles, so you can set your own pace.

How these titles are selected

Story prerequisites are curated. Likely prerequisites are inferred from sequel numbering or explicit synopsis references. Recommendations are earlier stories in the same continuity; background picks are separate adaptations. Series lists cover whole shows, not an episode-by-episode watch order.

Explore the full viewing guide

Where it fits in the DC universe

The Lego Batman Movie is title 30 of 40 in our Animated Elseworlds viewing sequence. The Lego Batman Movie uses its own comic interpretation of Batman and the wider DC world. It is not part of the serious animated film continuities or a sequel to a live-action Batman. References to other versions are part of its appeal, rather than evidence that all those versions share one history.

Explore this viewing sequence