Since making his debut in the pages of Detective Comics back in 1939, Batman has become one of the world’s most famous super heroes, as well as a pop culture icon. Whether he’s flying solo, or working alongside the likes of Alfred, Robin, and Batgirl, Batman is hugely popular and over the decades he has built up a phenomenal fanbase.
Due to the overwhelming success of the character, it wasn’t long before he leapt from the printed page to the big screen to appear in a string of hit live-action movies. His movie career began with a collection of film serials during the 1940s, before appearing in his first feature-length adventure in 1966, starring Adam West.
From here, other actors took on the role of the Caped Crusader for movies including 1989’s Batman, 2008’s The Dark Knight, and 2022’s The Batman. For the most part, Batman took the lead role in all of these big screen stories, but from time-to-time he also popped up as a side character in films such as Justice League (2017) and The Flash (2023).
Today, I am taking a look at the film career of Batman with a run-through of all his live-action movies. This post will shine a light on his film appearances, including all of his major motion pictures and box-office hits.
If you’re not quite familiar with all the Batman movies, or you’re merely after a refresher course, this post should prove useful. Below you’ll find some all-important information about each movie, as well as a guide to the multiple viewing orders for the Batman films.
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The Batman movie serials
First up, and before moving onto a discussion about the feature-length films, it’s important to note the Batman movie serials from the 1940s. Batman’s first brush with cinematic glory began in 1943, when he became the star of a multi-chapter serial, appropriately titled, Batman.
For those not familiar with movie seriels, these were essentially serialised dramas, which became very popular during the 1930s and 1940s. Serials told one long story, divided into short chapters, with audiences encouraged to come back to the cinema each week to see the next instalment.
In the case of Batman, the character featured in two movie serials, beginning with the aforementioned ‘Batman‘ from 1943, and continuing with ‘Batman and Robin‘ in 1949. Both serials told very simple stories (especially by today’s standards), which were divided into 15 chapters, and were played in cinemas during a Saturday matinee.
In the first serial, Batman was played by Lewis Wilson, while Robin was played by Douglas Croft. In the second serial, Robert Lowery played Batman, and Johnny Duncan played Robin.
If you wish to watch the Batman serials, then watch them in the following order:
- Batman (1943)
- Batman and Robin (1949)
Are they essential viewing? No, not at all.
While the serials were very much in-keeping with action-adventure stories of the era and did feature some of Batman’s supporting characters in the shape of Commissioner Gordon, Vicki Vale, and Alfred, they are not particularly great by today’s standards, and they are not technically movies either. The Batman serials remain an important touchstone in Batman’s film career, as they introduced cinema audiences to the Caped Crusader, but in terms of watch-ability, they are for completists only.
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All of the Batman movies in order
Following Batman’s brief exploration into the world of movie serials, the Caped Crusader’s next live-action appearance would be on television, via the 1966 show, Batman. Adam West took on the lead role of Batman and his alter-ego Bruce Wayne, while Burt Ward played the role of Robin/Dick Grayson.
When the show first hit television screens it was a huge hit with viewers. The show featured a significant array of Batman’s iconic adversaries, including the Joker, the Mad Hatter, and Mr. Freeze, and viewers couldn’t get enough of it.
And because the Batman television show was so successful, it was quickly accompanied by a spin-off movie. The film was created as a big screen adventure for Batman and Robin, and as such, it became the first feature-length movie for the Caped Crusader.
Batman: The Movie (1966)
Starring Adam West and Burt Ward, Batman: The Movie was devised as an in-continuity extension of the 1966 Batman television show. The film featured all the same humour, eye-popping set designs, and colourful characters as the show, only this time around it boasted a longer run-time.
Whereas the show tended to focus on one villain per episode, Batman: The Movie brought together four, including the Joker, the Penguin, the Riddler, and Catwoman. The story saw the quartet of foes unite to unleash a dastardly plot against the United World Organization Security Council – a special body comprised of various political figures from around the world.
Batman (1989)
Due to the overwhelming popularity of the 1966 Batman television show, as well its spin-off movie, the general consensus amongst non-comic book fans was that Batman was a ‘fun’ character. This was something which had been a key focus of the ’60s Batman show and movie, and it had left a lasting impression the world over.
However, in 1989 everything changed with the arrival of a completely different take on the Batman mythology. This different take came via director Tim Burton’s Batman, which repositioned the character as a dark, brooding figure, more like his original comic book counterpart and far removed from his 1960s offering.
Starring Michael Keaton as Batman/Bruce Wayne, Jack Nicholson as the Joker, and Kim Basinger as Vicki Vale, Batman reintroduced the Caped Crusader as a serious Dark Knight, who fights a seemingly endless war against crime in his home of Gotham City. The film focused on Batman’s battle with the Joker, while detailing both characters’ origin stories.
Batman Returns (1992)
Due to the massive success of Batman, a sequel was quickly put into production, with director Tim Burton remaining on board to oversee the film and Michael Keaton back in the Bat-suit as Batman. The film was released in 1992, under the title Batman Returns, with the cast including Danny DeVito, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Christopher Walken.
In this film, the Dark Knight finds himself battling a trio of villains in the shape of the hideous Penguin, the unhinged Catwoman, and corrupt industrialist, Max Shreck. And if that wasn’t bad enough, the Gotham City police force and the general public begin to question Batman’s commitment to protecting the city.
Batman Forever (1995)
Although Batman Returns proved popular at the box-office, the film did not make as much money as its predecessor. Batman Returns also suffered from some backlash from parents, who felt the movie was a bit too dark for younger audiences.
As such, Warner Bros. Pictures (the studio that oversees the Batman movies) pressed ahead with another sequel, but expressed a desire for a slightly new direction this time around. This new direction included replacing director Tim Burton with new director Joel Schumacher, and insisting on something a touch lighter.
The result was 1995’s Batman Forever – a movie which was a bit more family-friendly than Batman Returns. For this film, Val Kilmer took over the role of Batman/Bruce Wayne, while Chris O’Donnell stepped onto the screen as Dick Grayson/Robin, Jim Carrey played the Riddler, Tommy Lee Jones took on Two-Face, and Nicole Kidman was Dr. Chase Meridian.
Batman & Robin (1997)
The lighter approach to the Batman movie series worked its magic, and Batman Forever was another big hit. Not only did it make more money at the box-office than Batman Returns, but it also made lots of income through merchandising and promotional tie-ins.
With this being seen as a positive step forward, Warner Bros. Pictures gave the green light for another Batman movie, with director Joel Schumacher remaining in the director’s chair. The film – titled Batman & Robin – would act as a sequel to Batman, Batman Returns, and Batman Forever, but the tone was very different from what came before, going even lighter and brighter this time around.
Chris O’Donnell returned to the role of Dick Grayson/Robin, but George Clooney replaced Val Kilmer as Batman/Bruce Wayne. Joining the cast was Alicia Silverstone as Barbara Wilson/Batgirl, as well as Arnold Schwarzenegger as Mr. Freeze, Uma Thurman as Poison Ivy, and Jeep Swenson as Bane.
Return to the Batcave: The Misadventures of Adam and Burt (2003)
Moving away from the big screen for this next movie, which is less of a big budget action-adventure picture, and more of a made-for-television nostalgia-fest. The film is Return to the Batcave: The Misadventures of Adam and Burt – a biographical action-comedy, which aired on CBS in 2003.
As the title suggests, this film centred its story around Batman television actors, Adam West and Burt Ward. The film was created as fun look back at the 1966 television series, with West and Ward getting involved in a mad-cap romp, which detailed their involvement with the hit show.
Batman Begins (2005)
Side-stepping the television movie, Return to the Batcave: The Misadventures of Adam and Burt, and returning back to 1997’s big budget picture, Batman & Robin, it’s fair to say that Warner Bros.’ plans to brighten up the Batman movies was not well-received by critics or audiences. Batman & Robin did OK at the box-office, but the reviews were less-than positive and ultimately it was deemed a failure.
As a result of Batman & Robin‘s shortcomings, the big-screen Batman movies went on hiatus for eight years. When the series returned, it was the beginning of a new era, with a new director, a new cast, and a new vision.
Christopher Nolan took on directing duties for the movie, which made its debut in 2005 under the title Batman Begins. Christian Bale stepped into the role of Batman/Bruce Wayne, while Liam Neeson played Ra’s al Ghul, and Cillian Murphy took on the part of the Scarecrow.
The aim for Batman Begins was to reinvigorate the Batman movie series, with a more grounded approach. Audiences had seen Batman wielding an array of fantastic gadgets in previous movies, so the key here was to demonstrate how these gizmos (as well as Batman himself) could exist in the real world.
The Dark Knight (2008)
With Batman Begins proving popular with audiences, Warner Bros. Pictures gave the ‘thumbs up’ for a sequel titled The Dark Knight. Christopher Nolan was to remain on board as the director, with Christian Bale continuing as Batman/Bruce Wayne.
For this movie, Batman finds himself up against a tricky new foe called the Joker, as played by Heath Ledger, as well as a conflicted villain named Two-Face, played by Aaron Eckhart. The film was an epic adventure, filled with explosive action and great dialogue, and was both a critical and commercial hit.
The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
With the Batman movies firmly on a role, Warner Bros. pushed ahead with a third entry in Christopher Nolan’s Batman series. This next instalment – titled The Dark Knight Rises – would be the last chapter in this particular tale, bringing the story to a satisfying end.
Set a few years on from the events of The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises sees Batman come out of retirement to tackle a new threat to Gotham City. Christian Bale reprised the role of Batman/Bruce Wayne, while the cast included Anne Hathaway as Catwoman, Marion Cotillard as Talia al Ghul, and Tom Hardy as Bane.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)
With Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy complete, it was time for a new era of Batman. However, since the days of Batman Returns and The Dark Knight, the face of cinema had changed somewhat, and instead of making sequels or trilogies, the trend in Hollywood was now to make everything part of a cinematic universe.
Disney was having great success with the Marvel Cinematic Universe – an interconnected collection of super hero movies – and Warner Bros. Pictures wanted to get a taste of the action too. The studio had grand plans to team Batman up with other heroes from the pages of DC Comics, resulting in the creation of the DC Extended Universe.
The DC Extended Universe comprised a collection of films featuring a mix of stand-alone titles such as 2013’s Man of Steel and 2017’s Wonder Woman, as well as team-up movies like 2020’s Birds of Prey and 2021’s The Suicide Squad.
Batman would ultimately appear in five entries in the DC Extended Universe, beginning with 2016’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. The movie would pit Batman against fellow caped wonder, Superman, in a story that would see the two heroes start off as enemies before eventually finding common ground.
Ben Affleck took on the role of Batman/Bruce Wayne, while Henry Cavill played Superman. Joining them on screen was Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman and Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor.
Suicide Squad (2016)
A significant selling point of cinematic universes was the idea that key characters who were usually reserved for their own franchises, could suddenly pop-up in movies featuring other heroes. For example, Wonder Woman could appear in a Batman and Superman movie, and Batman could appear in a film about super villains.
And that’s exactly what happened in 2016’s Suicide Squad, which wasn’t a Batman movie, but did feature Batman in an extended cameo appearance. The film focused on villains such as Harley Quinn and Captain Boomerang going on a deadly mission, with Batman (as played by Ben Affleck) popping up on a number of occasions for some brief appearances.
Justice League (2017)
Following on from his roles in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad, Ben Affleck returned to the cape and cowl for the heroic team-up movie, Justice League. The film was promoted as a big screen cross-over adventure, which would see Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Cyborg, and Aquaman join forces to fight an alien invasion.
Zack Snyder was hired to direct Justice League, however, after shooting a significant portion of the movie, a family tragedy caused the director to step down from the film. Joss Whedon was brought in as a replacement director, and using Snyder’s existing footage, as well as some newly-shot material, he completed the film.
Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021)
The release of Justice League in 2017 was not met with the response that Warner Bros. Pictures had hoped for. Rather than being a critical and commercial success as envisioned, the film was seen as being something of a misfire that failed to excite or delight general audiences as well as the fanbase.
The film’s shortcomings were viewed by die-hard fans as a result of the change in directors mid-shoot. A very vocal corner of the fanbase believed that had Zack Snyder remained on board the project (without Joss Whedon getting involved), Justice League would have been a more coherent picture, and generally a better experience all round.
After campaigning online to get Warner Bros. to revisit the film and give Snyder the opportunity to finish what he started, the studio agreed and gave the director a small budget to finish his original version of Justice League. This new, alternate take on Justice League – titled Zack Snyder’s Justice League – would be twice the length of the theatrical cut, with expanded scenes, new footage, and a more serious tone.
Ben Affleck filmed a new scene for Zack Snyder’s Justice League (despite initially deciding to step away from the DCEU), and a number of his fellow actors returned too. The film was released direct-to-streaming, as well as on physical home video, and was generally seen by fans as the better version of the two Justice League movies.
The Batman (2022)
With Warner Bros. Pictures keen to push ahead with more Batman films, the studio looked at developing a solo movie for Ben Affleck’s Batman set within the DC Extended Universe. Initially Affleck was on board to star and direct, however, following a few bad experiences with the DCEU, as well as some personal struggles of his own, he decided his time in the cape and cowl was at an end and he opted not to continue in a solo film.
Moving forward, the studio hired director Matt Reeves to oversee the development of a new Batman movie. This film would be completely separate from the DCEU, and would feature a whole new cast, including a new lead star.
Robert Pattinson took on the role of Batman/Bruce Wayne for this new movie, which would arrive in 2022 under the title, The Batman. The film was set two years into Batman’s war on crime, with the Dark Knight involved in an epic story that included Catwoman, the Riddler, and the Penguin (as well as a cameo from the Joker).
The Flash (2023)
Although Robert Pattinson appeared on screen as Batman in 2022’s The Batman, Warner Bros. Pictures still had its cinematic universe, the DCEU, in operation. This cinematic universe was nearing the end of its run, but before it fizzled out, the studio debuted The Flash.
The Flash hit cinemas in 2023, and was a multiverse adventure which centred around the character of the same name. However, while the story was focused on the Flash, the film also incorporated multiple Batmen into the story.
Ben Affleck reprised the role of Batman once again to appear in a couple of scenes within the movie, playing the DCEU version of the Dark Knight. Michael Keaton also appeared in the film – in a significant role – playing an alternate version of Batman, as did George Clooney who popped up in a quick cameo role playing Bruce Wayne.
The Batman movies in order
Should you wish to watch the Batman movies in release order, the list of films is as follows:
- Batman: The Movie (1966)
- Batman (1989)
- Batman Returns (1992)
- Batman Forever (1995)
- Batman & Robin (1997)
- Return to the Batcave: The Misadventures of Adam and Burt (2003)
- Batman Begins (2005)
- The Dark Knight (2008)
- The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
- Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)
- Suicide Squad (2016)
- Justice League (2017)
- Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021)
- The Batman (2022)
- The Flash (2023)
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If the multiverse exists, are all of the Batman movies part of the same series?
Although 2023’s The Flash makes it clear a multiverse exists, and therefore all the films are technically connected in some way, the films are actually broken down into individual collections. The breakdown is as follows:
The 1960s-era of Batman
- Batman: The Movie (1966)
- Return to the Batcave: The Misadventures of Adam and Burt (2003)
The Batman Anthology Collection
- Batman (1989)
- Batman Returns (1992)
- Batman Forever (1995)
- Batman & Robin (1997)
The Dark Knight Trilogy
- Batman Begins (2005)
- The Dark Knight (2008)
- The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
The DC Extended Universe
- Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)
- Suicide Squad (2016)
- Justice League (2017)
- Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021)
- The Flash (2023)
The Batman Universe
- The Batman (2022)
Outside the above movies, the live-action Batman film series has also inspired a number of movies that are viewed as ‘Batman adjacent’ tales. These are films which are not actually about Batman, but feature Batman-related characters (i.e characters who originated in Batman comics or Batman media).
The films include:
- Catwoman (2004)
- Joker (2019)*
- Joker: Folie à Deux (2024)
*This movie includes a cameo appearance from a young Bruce Wayne (Batman does not appear).
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Who are the Batman actors in each movie and which directors directed each Batman movie?
During the course of the Batman movie series, the actor playing Batman/Bruce Wayne has changed many times. Some of these actors have played the character multiple times, while others have done shorter stints.
The Batman actors are as follows:
- Adam West played Batman in Batman: The Movie and appears in the bio-pic, Return to the Batcave: The Misadventures of Adam and Burt
- Michael Keaton played Batman in Batman, Batman Returns, and The Flash
- Val Kilmer played Batman in Batman Forever
- George Clooney played Batman in Batman & Robin and appears in a cameo role as Bruce Wayne in The Flash
- Christian Bale played Batman in Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, and The Dark Knight Returns
- Ben Affleck played Batman in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Suicide Squad, Justice League, Zack Snyder’s Justice League, and The Flash
- Robert Pattinson played Batman in The Batman
As for the Batman directors, they are as follows:
- Leslie H. Martinson directed Batman: The Movie
- Tim Burton directed Batman and Batman Returns
- Joel Schumacher directed Batman Forever and Batman & Robin
- Paul A. Kaufman directed Return to the Batcave: The Misadventures of Adam and Burt
- Christopher Nolan directed Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, and The Dark Knight Rises
- Zack Snyder directed Batman v Superman, parts of 2017’s Justice League, and Zack Snyder’s Justice League
- David Ayer directed Suicide Squad
- Joss Whedon directed parts of 2017’s Justice League
- Matt Reeves directed The Batman
- Andy Muschietti directed The Flash
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Which is the best Batman movie?
The general consensus amongst fans is that most of the Batman movies are good films. According to IMDb, the Batman films are rated as follows:
- Batman: The Movie (1966) – 6.5/10
- Batman (1989) – 7.5/10
- Batman Returns (1992) – 7.1/10
- Batman Forever (1995) – 5.4/10
- Batman & Robin (1997) – 3.8/10
- Return to the Batcave: The Misadventures of Adam and Burt (2003) – 6.5/10
- Batman Begins (2005) – 8.2/10
- The Dark Knight (2008) – 9.0/10
- The Dark Knight Rises (2012) – 8.4/10
- Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) – 6.5/10
- Suicide Squad (2016) – 5.9/10
- Justice League (2017) – 6.1/10
- Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021) – 7.9/10
- The Batman (2022) – 7.8/10
- The Flash (2023) – 6.7/10
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If you’re a fan of the Batman movies, you may wish to know that all of the films are available on physical media/home video, as part of various collection releases.
One of these releases is Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Trilogy 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray Collection which includes the films: Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, and The Dark Knight Rises on 4K and Blu-ray.
The set is available to buy from all good entertainment stockists, including Amazon US and Amazon UK.
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Disclaimer: I earn a commission for products purchased through some links in this article.
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Thank you for stopping by It’s A Stampede! to read this post about the Batman movie series. For more movie posts, be sure to check out the recommended reads below.
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