How To Watch ‘Batman’ Movies In Order

The Caped Crusader. The Dark Knight. The World’s Greatest Detective. Batsy. Bruce Wayne. Whatever you want to call him, Batman has never gone away since his arrival close to a century ago in the pages of Detective Comics #27.

Gotham City’s brooding protector has been imagined and re-imagined every which way over the decades, becoming a permanent fixture of our collective zeitgeist through every corner of storytelling and consumerism: film, television, video games, toys, board games, underwear, Halloween costumes — the list goes on.

An entire book could be written on the cultural immortality of the Batman brand, but today, we’ll be looking at the vigilante’s time in live-action incarnations projected onto the big screen.

Batman Movies In Order Of Release

• Batman (1943)
• Batman and Robin (1949)
• Batman (1966)
• Batman (1989)
• Batman Returns (1992)
• Batman Forever (1995)
• Batman & Robin (1997)
• Batman Begins (2005)
• The Dark Knight (2008)
• The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
• Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2015)
• Suicide Squad (2016)
• Justice League (2017)
• Joker (2019)
• Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021)
• The Batman (2022)
• The Flash (2023)

Chronological Order of All Batman Movies

Please note: Aside from Joker, each Batman film takes place within its own timeless world and can therefore be watched in order of release.

Batman (1943)

Less than five years after his comics debut (courtesy of co-creators Bill Finger and Bob Kane), Batman officially hit the big screen in a self-titled film serial produced by Columbia Pictures. Lewis Wilson and Douglas Croft portrayed Batman and Robin as they go up against criminal mastermind Dr. Daka (J. Carrol Naish), a villain created specifically for the 15-chapter serial.

Batman and Robin (1949)

Six years later, Batman (Robert Lowery) and Robin (Johnny Duncan) returned to theaters for a bout with another never-before-seen baddie known as The Wizard, who requires diamonds to power a remote-controlled device capable of taking over any vehicle within a 50-mile radius (via Turner Classic Movies).

Batman (1966)

Spun out of the wildly popular — and nostalgically campy — television series starring Adam West (Batman) and Burt Ward (Robin), the 1966 feature finds the Dynamic Duo facing off against a trio of classic rogues: Joker (Caesar Romero), Riddler (Frank Gorshin), and Penguin (Burgess Meredith). “Batman is packed with action, clever sight gags, interesting complications and goes all out on bat with batmania: batplane, batboat, batcycle, etc. etc.,” Variety wrote in its review at the time. “Humor is stretched to the limit, color is comic-strip sharp, and script retrieves every trick from the highly popular teleseries’ oatbag, adding a few more sophisticated touches.”

Joker (1981)

The highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time (indeed, it’s the only R-rated movie to ever crack $1 billion), Joker takes place in one of the seediest versions of Gotham City we’ve ever seen, circa 1981. Aspiring comedian Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) slowly into madness and kickstarts a criminal revolution that culminates in the death of Thomas and Martha Wayne. It’s basically Martin Scorsese’s The King of Comedy remade within the DC Universe. Fun fact: Martin Scorsese briefly flirted with the idea of helming Joker. Instead, Todd Phillips (The Hangover trilogy) got the job. The 2019 film, which holds a 69% score on Rotten Tomatoes, nabbed two Oscar wins for Best Actor (Phoenix) and Best Original Score (Hildur Guðnadóttir).

Batman (1989)

You wanna get nuts? Let’s get nuts! The influence of Tim Burton’s Batman cannot be overstated. It’s the film that turned the Caped Crusader from a campy punchline into a brooding and fearsome presence. And speaking of fear, many viewers couldn’t understand how a comedic actor like Michael Keaton would be able to portray a serious character like the Dark Knight. Boy, did he prove them wrong. You’ve also got Jack Nicholson turning in one of the greatest Joker performances of all time. Batman made over $411 million globally and currently holds a 76% score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Batman Returns (1992)

Burton’s festive Batman sequel introduces Michelle Pfeiffer as Selina Kyle/Catwoman and Danny DeVito as Oswald Cobblepot/Penguin. The film made over $266 million at the worldwide box office and currently holds an 81% score on Rotten Tomatoes. After this, Keaton wouldn’t reprise the role of Bruce Wayne until The Flash, three decades later.

Batman Forever (1995)

Keaton was out and Kilmer was in as Burton handed the reigns over to Joel Schumacher, who took the property in a lighter, campier direction. This creative choice would come back to haunt the director just two years later, but for the time being, audiences showed up in force to see Batman go head-to-head with Two-Face (Tommy Lee Jones) and the Riddler (Jim Carrey). Despite middling reviews from critics, Batman Forever was still a box office success, grossing $336 million globally against a pricey budget of $100 million.

Batman & Robin (1997)

Two words: bat nipples. Five more words: Arnold Schwarzenegger cracking ice puns. Schumacher’s second stab at the Batman mythos — which saw George Clooney replacing Kilmer as Bruce Wayne — is camp to the umpteenth degree. You either love it or you hate it. There is no middle ground. Torn apart by critics and audiences alike, Batman & Robin (with the Boy Wonder played by the returning Chris O’Donnell) grossed $238 million worldwide and pretty much killed interest in the franchise until the Nolan reboot almost a decade later.

Batman Begins (2005)

The film that reimagined Batman for a grittier, post-9/11 world is also the film that catapulted writer-director Christopher Nolan into the realm of blockbuster cinema. Fourteen years after the murder of his parents at the hands of petty criminal Joe Chill, Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) returns home to Gotham City, toughened by his training with the organization known as the League of Shadows. Donning the cape and cowl, he embarks on a solitary life of vigilantism, combating organized crime and a fear-happy villain known as Scarecrow (Cillian Murphy). Batman Begins netted $375 million worldwide and holds an 85% score on Rotten Tomatoes.

The Dark Knight (2008)

Perhaps the greatest superhero movie of all time, The Dark Knight is a masterpiece in every sense of the word, thanks in no small part to Heather Ledger’s iconic and Oscar-winning take on the Joker. When the Clown Prince of Crime begins causing all sorts of anarchy in an effort to expose humanity’s true nature, Bruce Wayne battles for control of Gotham’s soul with a little help from a soon-to-be Commissioner Gordon and crusading district attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart). Hailed by critics as the apex of the comic book genre, The Dark Knight made over $1 billion globally and holds a near-perfect score of 94% on Rotten Tomatoes.

The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

Eight years after the events of The Dark Knight, Gotham City is cut off from the rest of the world by a masked terrorist known as Bane (played by a hulking Tom Hardy), whose connection to the League of Shadows runs deep. While not quite a masterpiece, The Dark Knight Rises is still an epic and poignantly fitting end to the Nolan era of Batman films. The film grossed over $1 billion at the worldwide box office and currently holds an 87% score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2015)

Save Martha! The second chapter of the now-defunct “Snyderverse,” Dawn of Justice finds the Bat (Ben Affleck) going toe-to-toe with the Man of Steel (Henry Cavill). How is that even possible when Clark Kent is an indestructible alien and Bruce Wayne is nothing more than a fragile meat puppet? Well, there’s precedent in Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns, which sees Batman using his technological prowess to hold his own in a battle against the Kryptonian. Of course, you just know they’re going to end up the best of friends before the movie’s over. That’s exactly what happens once Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg) unleashes the one being who can actually kill Superman: Doomsday. A rushed effort at world-building meant to skip the foreplay and get right to the Justice League goodies, Dawn of Justice grossed an impressive $874 million worldwide and holds a 29% score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Suicide Squad (2016)

This one should have been an easy slam dunk. A team comprised of convicted super-villains promised commuted prison sentences in exchange for their participation in black ops missions was just what the doctor ordered in a post-MCU world packed to the brim with formulaic superhero offerings. Unfortunately, the theatrical cut of Suicide Squad is a jumbled disappointment. Here’s hoping David Ayer gets to release his preferred edit one day. What qualifies this as a Batman movie, you might be asking yourself? Ben Affleck’s Caped Crusader makes two brief appearances in flashbacks to previous encounters with Deadshot (Will Smith) and Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie). Despite the critical backlash, Suicide Squad managed to net $749 million globally and an Oscar win for Best Makeup and Hairstyling. It currently holds a 26% score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Justice League (2017)

Started by Zack Snyder and finished by Joss Whedon, Justice League is the cinematic equivalent of Frankenstein’s Monster. It was meant to be Warner Bros.’ answer to The Avengers. What they got, however, was a critical and box office catastrophe, from which the DC Extended Universe never fully recovered. When the villain known as Steppenwolf (Ciarán Hinds) shows up to lay the groundwork for an invasion led by Darkseid, Bruce Wayne (Affleck) springs into action, assembling a team of super-powered individuals: Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot), Aquaman (Jason Momoa), Cyborg (Ray Fisher), and Flash (Ezra Miller). Justice League grossed $661 million worldwide and holds a score of 39% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021)

Justice League, but make it longer. Much longer. A runtime of just over four hours may seem excessive at first glance, but Zack Snyder’s Justice League is actually a surprising improvement over its 2017 predecessor, allowing for plenty of time to develop each hero on the titular team. Plus, we get to see Affleck’s Batman interacting with the likes of Martian Manhunter (Harry Lennix) and Joker (Jared Leto). Released onto Max (formerly known as HBO Max) in 2021, the film holds a fresh score of 72% on Rotten Tomatoes.

The Batman (2022)

Perhaps the grittiest version of the Dark Knight we’ve ever seen on the big screen, The Batman (directed and co-written by Planet of the Apes alum Matt Reeves) takes place in the early days of Bruce Wayne’s crime-fighting career. Feared by thugs and mistrusted by the Gotham police department, the titular hero (Robert Pattinson) teams up with one of the city’s few non-crooked cops, Jim Gordon (Jeffrey Wright), to take down a puzzle-loving killer known as the Riddler (Paul Dano), who seeks to reveal decades of systemic rot within the city’s various institutions. The film received widespread acclaim (it currently holds an 85% score on Rotten Tomatoes) and ear over $772 million globally. A sequel and two television spinoffs (one centered around Colin Farrell’s Penguin and another around Arkham Asylum) are currently in the works.

The Flash (2023)

Barry Allen (Ezra Miller) goes back in time to prevent his mother’s murder — a tragic homicide that wrongfully sent his father, Henry (Ron Livingston taking over the part from Billy Crudup), to prison. Multiverse hijinks ensue as Barry teams up with an alternate version of himself (also Miller), Burton-era Batman (Keaton), and Supergirl (Sasha Calle) to save the world from Man of Steel antagonist, General Zod (Michael Shannon). While The Flash is far from the greatest superhero movie ever made, it is a real joy to see Keaton back in the cape and cowl after all these decades. What’s more: Barry’s dimensional meddling replaces Ben Affleck’s Bruce Wayne with the one played by George Clooney. Andy Muschietti (IT Chapters 1 & 2) directed the super-expensive movie, which flopped at the box office with a little over $270 million worldwide. It currently holds a 63% score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Upcoming Batman Movies To Look Out For

Joker: Folie à Deux (October 24, 2024)

A sequel to 2019’s Joker (the highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time), Folie à Deux will pair Joaquin Phoenix’s unhinged Clown Prince of Crime with Lady Gaga’s take on Harley Quinn. Todd Phillips (known for The Hangover trilogy) returns to direct, working off a screenplay he wrote alongside Scott Silver. Catherine Keener, Brendan Gleeson, and Zazie Beetz round out the cast.

The Batman — Part II (October 3, 2025)

Little is known about the second chapter in the latest take on the Caped Crusader from writer-director Matt Reeves. All we know for certain is that Robert Pattinson will reprise the role of Bruce Wayne/Batman for another round of vigilante justice.

The Brave and the Bold (TBD)

Inspired by Grant Morrison’s Batman & Son, the first Batman project to fit into James Gunn and Peter Safran’s rebooted DC cinematic universe (both Joker and The Batman fall under the “Elseworlds” banner), will focus on Bruce Wayne and his biological son, Damian Wayne, who is Gunn’s preferred version of Robin from the comics. The Flash director Andy Muschietti is on board to helm the film.

Batman Movies By Leading Actor

Lewis Wilson Batman Movies

Robert Lowery Batman Movies

Adam West Batman Movies

Michael Keaton Batman Movies

• Batman (1989)
• Batman Returns (1992)
• The Flash (2023)

Val Kilmer Batman Movies

George Clooney Batman Movies

• Batman & Robin (1997)
• The Flash (2023)

Christian Bale Batman Movies

• Batman Begins (2005)
• The Dark Knight (2008)
• The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

Ben Affleck Batman Movies

• Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2015)
• Suicide Squad (2016)
• Justice League (2017)
• Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021)
• The Flash (2023)

Joaquin Phoenix Batman Movies

• Joker (2019)
• Joker: Folie à Deux (2024)

Robert Pattinson Batman Movies

• The Batman (2022)
• The Batman — Part II (2025)

From the Golden Age of Hollywood to the epoch of modern blockbusters, Batman continues to prove himself as one of the most adaptable characters of all time.