Movies like Batman: The Dark Knight Returns (2013)
The best movies like Batman: The Dark Knight Returns (2013) are Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 2 (2013), Injustice (2021) and Superman: Unbound (2013). If Batman: The Dark Knight Returns hooked you with its animation and action, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedBatman: Knightfall Part 1: Knightfall (2026)9.1/10 from 509 votes
- NewestBatman: Knightfall Part 1: Knightfall (2026)Released 2026
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 2 (2013)
Batman has stopped the reign of terror that The Mutants had cast upon his city. Now an old foe wants a reunion and the government wants The Man of Steel to put a stop to Batman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & action
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisInjustice (2021)
When Lois Lane is killed, an unhinged Superman decides to take control of the Earth. Determined to stop him, Batman creates a team of freedom-fighting heroes. But when superheroes go to war, can the world survive?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSuperman: Unbound (2013)
Superman and Supergirl take on the cybernetic being known as Brainiac, who boasts that he possesses "the knowledge and strength of 10,000 worlds."
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSuicide Squad: Hell to Pay (2018)
Amanda Waller's top-secret "Task Force X" — consisting of Deadshot, Bronze Tiger, Killer Frost, Captain Boomerang, Harley Quinn, and Copperhead — is on a mission to retrieve a mystical object so powerful that they're willing to risk their lives to steal it. However, the Suicide Squad isn't the only group of villains seeking to possess the object. It's a race for the golden prize, and second place isn't an option if they want to stay alive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBatman: The Long Halloween Deluxe Edition (2022)
Atrocious serial killings on holidays in Gotham City send The World's Greatest Detective into action - confronting both organized crime and a unified front of classic DC Super-Villains - while attempting to stop the mysterious murderer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDeathstroke: Knights & Dragons - The Movie (2020)
The assassin Deathstroke tries to save his family from the wrath of H.I.V.E. and the murderous Jackal.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisJustice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths Part Two (2024)
An endless army of shadow demons bent on the destruction of all reality swarms over our world and all parallel Earths! The only thing opposing them is the mightiest team of metahumans ever assembled. But not even the combined power of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern and all their fellow superheroes can slow down the onslaught of this invincible horde. What mysterious force is driving them? And how do the long-buried secrets of the Monitor and Supergirl threaten to crush our last defense?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJustice League: Warworld (2023)
Until now, the Justice League has been a loose association of superpowered individuals. But when they are swept away to Warworld, a place of unending brutal gladiatorial combat, Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and the others must somehow unite to form an unbeatable resistance able to lead an entire planet to freedom.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Venture Bros.: Radiant Is the Blood of the Baboon Heart (2023)
A nationwide manhunt for Hank Venture leads to untold dangers and unexpected revelations, while The Monarch is literally out for Dr Venture's blood. An imposing evil from the past reemerges to wreak havoc on the Ventures, The Guild, and even the Monarch marriage—it will take friends and foes alike to restore the Ventures' world to order… or end it once and for all.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLegion of Super-Heroes (2023)
Kara, devastated by the loss of Krypton, struggles to adjust to her new life on Earth. Her cousin, Superman, mentors her and suggests she leave their space-time to attend the Legion Academy in the 31st century, where she makes new friends and a new enemy: Brainiac 5. Meanwhile, she must contend with a mysterious group called the Dark Circle as it searches for a powerful weapon held in the Academy’s vault.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBatman: Gotham Knight (2008)
Six interlocking stories reveal Bruce Wayne's earliest adventures as Batman and the steps he took to become the grim avenger of Gotham City.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHulk Vs. (2009)
Two stories featuring Marvel's anti-hero: .................. For ages, Odin has protected his kingdom of Asgard. But every winter, the All-Father must rest and regain his strength for one week. During this time, all of Asgard's foes try to claim the realm for their own, but they are always stopped by the mighty Thor. Loki, god of mischief, has kidnapped Dr. Bruce Banner and brought him to Asgard with the help of Amora the Enchantress. .................. Department H sends in Wolverine to track down a mysterious beast known by the US Military as the Hulk, who is rampaging across the Canadian wilderness. Surveying the extent of the damage to a destroyed town, Wolverine notices a toxic scent as well as the smell of gunpowder. He is then deployed to the wilderness to resume tracking the creature.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBatman: Knightfall Part 1: Knightfall (2026)
Arkham Asylum has been destroyed, and all its inmates have been unleashed upon Gotham City. As Batman races to round up some of his greatest enemies, he is pushed to his physical and mental limits and into a final confrontation with a new threat: the man called Bane!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & action
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisCode 8 Part II (2024)
In a world where superpowered people are heavily policed by robots, an ex-con teams up with a drug lord he despises to protect a teen from a corrupt cop.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCode 8 (2019)
In Lincoln City, some inhabitants have extraordinary abilities. Most live below the poverty line, under the close surveillance of a heavily militarized police force. Connor, a construction worker with powers, involves with a criminal gang to help his ailing mother. (Based on the short film “Code 8,” 2016.)
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDr. Strange (1978)
A psychiatrist becomes the new Sorcerer Supreme of the Earth in order to battle an evil Sorceress from the past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJustice League Dark: Apokolips War (2020)
Earth is decimated after intergalactic tyrant Darkseid has devastated the Justice League in a poorly executed war by the DC Super Heroes. Now the remaining bastions of good – the Justice League, Teen Titans, Suicide Squad and assorted others – must regroup, strategize and take the war to Darkseid in order to save the planet and its surviving inhabitants.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & action
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisSon of Batman (2014)
Batman learns he has a violent, unruly pre-teen son, secretly raised by the terrorist group known as The League of Assassins.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Chronicles of Riddick (2004)
After years of outrunning ruthless bounty hunters, escaped convict Riddick suddenly finds himself caught between opposing forces in a fight for the future of the human race. Now, waging incredible battles on fantastic and deadly worlds, this lone, reluctant hero will emerge as humanity's champion - and the last hope for a universe on the edge of annihilation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Spine of Night (2021)
When ancient dark magic falls into sinister hands and unleashes ages of suffering onto mankind, a group of heroes from different eras and cultures must band together in order to defeat it at all costs.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDC Showcase Original Shorts Collection (2010)
An anthology of DC Showcase stories consisting of a new Superman/Shazam feature and extended versions of older shorts.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAkira (1988)
A secret military project endangers Neo-Tokyo when it turns a biker gang member into a rampaging psychic psychopath that only two teenagers and a group of psychics can stop.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation & science fiction
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisMinority Report (2002)
John Anderton is a top 'Precrime' cop in the late-21st century, when technology can predict crimes before they're committed. But Anderton becomes the quarry when another investigator targets him for a murder charge.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTwelve Monkeys (1995)
In the year 2035, convict James Cole reluctantly volunteers to be sent back in time to discover the origin of a deadly virus that wiped out nearly all of the earth's population and forced the survivors into underground communities. But when Cole is mistakenly sent to 1990 instead of 1996, he's arrested and locked up in a mental hospital. There he meets psychiatrist Dr. Kathryn Railly and the son of a famous virus expert who may hold the key to the Army of the 12 Monkeys; thought to be responsible for unleashing the killer disease.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction & mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Terminator (1984)
In the post-apocalyptic future, reigning tyrannical supercomputers teleport a cyborg assassin known as the "Terminator" back to 1984 to kill Sarah Connor, whose unborn son is destined to lead insurgents against 21st century mechanical hegemony. Meanwhile, the human-resistance movement dispatches a lone warrior to safeguard Sarah. Can he stop the virtually indestructible killing machine?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTron (1982)
When brilliant video game maker Flynn hacks the mainframe of his ex-employer, he is beamed inside an astonishing digital world and becomes part of the very game he is designing. In his mission through cyberspace, Flynn matches wits with a maniacal Master Control Program and teams up with Tron, a security measure created to bring balance to the digital environment.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKamen Rider V3 vs. Destron Mutants (1973)
A physicist named Tetsuo Okita discovers a new mineral called "Satanium," which is more powerful than uranium and emits destructive effects to anyone exposed to it. However, Destron abducts Okita in hopes of finding the source of Satanium and collecting more of it to expedite their run for global domination. Kamen Rider V3 must act fast in rescuing Professor Okita and preventing Destron from collecting more of the deadly mineral.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & science fiction
Kamen Rider Wizard in Magic Land (2013)
A rainbow-colored tornado takes Haruto and Koyomi to an alternate reality called "Magic Land". There, its residents never developed science. Instead they put extensive research on magic. As a result, anyone has an ability to use magic, and some of them can even transform into a Kamen Rider Mage. When Haruto arrives, he meets a young orphan called Shiina. As Haruto explores Magic Land, he finds the Emerald Palace and meets Emperor Maya. He also meets Prime Minister Orma, who is known as Kamen Rider Sorcerer, who does not appear what he may seem to be...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & science fiction
I Want Pluto to Be a Planet Again (2016)
A transhumanist romance in the near future. A young boy of modest origins, Marcus, an H- , falls madly in love with an H+.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction & animation
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003)
It's been 10 years since John Connor saved Earth from Judgment Day, and he's now living under the radar, steering clear of using anything Skynet can trace. That is, until he encounters T-X, a robotic assassin ordered to finish what T-1000 started. Good thing Connor's former nemesis, the Terminator, is back to aid the now-adult Connor … just like he promised.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Batman: The Dark Knight Returns?
The closest matches to Batman: The Dark Knight Returns are Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 2 (2013), Injustice (2021) and Superman: Unbound (2013). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Batman: The Dark Knight Returns?
Start with Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 2 (2013), the closest match to Batman: The Dark Knight Returns.
What is the highest-rated movie like Batman: The Dark Knight Returns?
Batman: Knightfall Part 1: Knightfall (2026), rated 9.1/10 by 509 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Batman: The Dark Knight Returns?
Batman: Knightfall Part 1: Knightfall (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Batman: The Dark Knight Returns?
Yes: Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 2 (2013), Injustice (2021) and Superman: Unbound (2013).
How are movies similar to Batman: The Dark Knight Returns chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.