No other comic-book superhero has appeared in more live-action movies than Batman—not even Superman. We could get granular and include DC Universe animated films and TV series in the mix, but we’d be here all day, and the Caped Crusader would still come out on top. Let’s investigate the 17 (so far) live-action movies featuring Batman and where to stream them.
Live-action movies featuring Batman
Batman (1943)
Only a few years after his debut in comic-book form, Batman got the big-screen treatment with a self-titled movie that’s actually 15 serials tied together for a three-and-a-half-hour (!) runtime.
Batman & Robin (1949)
Batman (Robert Lowery) and Robin (Johnny Duncan) returned six years later with a nearly four-hour string of serials. This time, the Dynamic Duo battled The Wizard, who could control … cars?
Batman (1966)
The hyper-campy Batman TV show of the ’60s began with a movie that saw Bruce Wayne/Batman (Adam West) and Dick Grayson/Robin (Burt Ward) taking on Joker, Riddler, and Penguin. Biff! Pow! Splatt!
Batman (1989)
Tim Burton’s game-changing blockbuster took Batman back to his grim roots with Michael Keaton, who could play it seriously with a hint of humor. Batman also introduced Jack Nicholson as the classic Joker.
Batman Returns (1992)
Burton and Keaton came back for a second chapter, this time with a vile Penguin (Danny DeVito) and a seductively deranged Catwoman (Michelle Pfeiffer). Batman Returns is also a Christmas(ish) movie.
Batman Forever (1995)
The camp of old began to creep back into Batman when Joel Schumacher took over the franchise, with Val Kilmer slipping into the Batsuit. Batman Forever was a moneymaker, but the (first) end was near.
Batman & Robin (1997)
Batman & Robin = bat nips! George Clooney and Chris O’Donnell flailed in this neon nightmare against a punny Mr. Freeze (Arnold Schwarzenegger) and an arch Poison Ivy (Uma Thurman). Brand = dead.
Batman Begins (2005)
Don’t call it a comeback; call it a righteous reinvention. Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins took Gotham’s guardian to darker places than ever before, reinstating the superhero’s dark cred.
The Dark Knight (2008)
Nolan’s follow-up, The Dark Knight, injected chaos into the darkness, with the Joker (Heath Ledger) at his anarchic peak. Before Marvel arrived, The Dark Knight was the highest-grossing superhero flick ever.
The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
The Dark Knight Rises outdid its predecessor in epic destruction and box office bucks, closing Nolan’s trilogy with Tom Hardy’s fearsome Bane and Anne Hathaway’s understated Catwoman. A stunner.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2015)
Zack Snyder’s bleak epic brought the superheroes (Ben Affleck and Henry Cavill) together in a live-action film for the first time, as well as introducing the IRL Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot). As a movie, well …
Suicide Squad (2016)
More a colorful collection of characters and vignettes than a cohesive movie, Suicide Squad at least introduced breakout star Margo Robbie as Harley Quinn. Affleck’s Batman does a flashback drive-by.
Justice League (2017)
Batman (Affleck again) assembles the superteam of Wonder Woman (Gadot), Aquaman (Jason Momoa), Cyborg (Ray Fisher), and Flash (Ezra Miller). The resulting CGI dumpster fire was ultimately an injustice.
Joker (2019)
The ’80s-set Joker isn’t really part of Batman/DC Universe canon, and future Dark Knight Bruce Wayne only appears as a child, but so what? Joaquin Phoenix made this the biggest R-rated movie of all time.
Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021)
Zack Snyder had to bail before 2017’s Justice League was completed, leaving Joss Whedon to bat cleanup. His do-over was almost four hours long, but also a vast improvement—sorry, Joss.
The Batman (2022)
Newcomer Robert Pattinson brings a new vibe to Bruce Wayne/Batman in The Batman, a gritty AF tale set in a worse-off-than-ever Gotham City. Bonuses: Paul Dano as Riddler and Zoe Kravitz as Catwoman.
The Flash (2023)
Flash (Ezra Miller) traverses time to save his father, thus mucking up the multiverse. The only worthwhile aspect of The Flash is getting to see Ben Affleck, Michael Keaton, and George Clooney as Batmen.
Bill Frost has been a journalist and TV reviewer since the 4:3-aspect-ratio ’90s. His pulse-pounding prose has been featured in The Salt Lake Tribune, Inlander, Coachella Valley Independent, Las Vegas Weekly, and many other dead-tree publications (see BillFrost.tv). In addition to being a Senior Staff Writer at CableTV.com, Bill is a syndicated streaming TV columnist forSalt Lake City Weekly and other alternative weeklies, and host/producer of TV Tan Podcast. By night, Bill cranks a Flying V with his band at the bar.
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