For a Batfan, any day is a great day to watch all the live-action Batman movies in order (most of which are usually available with a Max subscription, making it one of the best streaming services to subscribe to. It can also be fun to debate which of the best Batman movies — such as Tim Burton‘s 1989 classic or The Dark Knight — or even the most underrated Batman movies, like SubZero, deserve a spot among the greatest superhero movies of all time.
Before you cast your vote, try revisiting (or, perhaps, even discovering) all of the live-action, feature-length DC movies starring the Caped Crusader so far on streaming, as a digital rental, or on physical media. We shall start with the “Bright Knight’s” big screen moment.
The Adam West Era
Batman: The Movie (1966)
Director: Leslie H. Martinson
Starring: Adam West, Burt Ward
What it’s about: Millionaire Bruce Wayne and his young ward, Dick “Robin” Grayson, take on four fearsome members of their rogues gallery.
More about the Batman movie: Released months after its TV series predecessor premiered, Batman: The Movie may be a far cry from the character’s definitively darker iterations but West’s legendary performance and its laugh-out-loud moments make it hard not to get wrapped up in this fun, campy classic.
How to watch Batman: The Movie
The Tim Burton Era
Batman (1989)
Director: Tim Burton
Starring: Michael Keaton, Jack Nicholson
What it’s about: Millionaire Bruce Wayne takes on a manic, disfigured gangster.
More about the Batman movie: One of the best Michael Keaton movies, Batman (also one of the best ’80s movies) brought the Dark Knight’s definitive, brooding form back to the mainstream with Keaton’s grounded portrayal, Nicholson’s timelessly manic take on the Joker, and Danny Elfman’s seminal score.
Batman Returns (1992)
Director: Tim Burton
Starring: Micahel Keaton, Danny DeVito
What it’s about: Wayne puts on the cape and cowl again to face The Penguin, Catwoman, and a corrupt industrialst during one volatile holiday season.
More about the Batman movie: The more definitive Tim Burton movie in the franchise is Batman Returns, which – despite some controversial backlash over its macabre style – is a thoroughly entertaining interpretation of Gotham City lore boasting one of the best Catwoman performances from Michelle Pfeiffer.
The Joel Schumacher Era
Batman Forever (1995)
Director: Joel Schumacher
Starring: Val Kilmer, Tommy Lee Jones
What it’s about: Bruce Wayne struggles with his own identity while Two-Face and The Riddler attempt to discover Batman’s true identity.
More about the Batman movie: Schumacher was tapped to direct Batman Forever, which is still dark on the inside but brighter on the outside (making Gotham look like Vegas with miniatures and digital effects), and also features Nicole Kidman as psychologist Chase Meridian, Jim Carrey as one of the most iconic Riddler depictions, and Chris O’Donnell as Robin.
Batman & Robin (1997)
Director: Joel Schumacher
Starring: George Clooney, Chris O’Donnell
What it’s about: The Caped Crusaders try to protect Gotham from Mr. Freeze and Poison, with unexpected help from Batgirl.
More about the Batman movie: Despite an initially cold reception from most, Batman & Robin still does work for some people for the scenery-chewing Arnold Schwarzenegger and Uma Thurman as Freeze and Ivy, Alicia Silverstone’s Batgirl, its much brighter tone and visual style.
The Dark Knight Trilogy
Batman Begins (2005)
Director: Christopher Nolan
Starring: Christian Bale, Michale Caine
What it’s about: Bruce Wayne takes on the visage of his own greatest fear to wage a war against crime in his home city.
More about the Batman movie: Bale secures himself as one of the best actors to wear the cape and cowl in Nolan’s acclaimed superhero origin story, Batman Begins, which also features one of the coolest Batmobile designs and beautifully bridges the gap between comic book fantasy and grounded, action-packed thrills.
The Dark Knight (2008)
Director: Christoper Nolan
Starring: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger
What it’s about: Bruce Wayne works with the GCPD and D.A. Harvey Dent to catch an elusive, dangerous criminal known as The Joker.
More about the Batman movie: Nolan’s second DC movie, The Dark Knight, sparked a revolution in comic book cinema, with much credit to the late Ledger Oscar-winning performance as the Joker.
The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
Director: Christoper Nolan
Starring: Christian Bale, Anne Hathaway
What it’s about: Batman is pushed to his farthest limits by a physically and mentally intimidating terrorist named Bane, who turns Gotham City into an anarchic “No Man’s Land.”
More about the Batman movie: Once again the villains steal the spotlight in Nolan’s trilogy ender, The Dark Knight Rises, with Tom Hardy’s Bane and Hathaway’s surprising portrayal of Catwoman, who joins forces with Batman in one of the coolest rival team-ups in recent memory.
How to watch The Dark Knight Rises
The DC Extended Universe
Director Zack Snyder’s Superman movie reboot, Man of Steel, was the first installment of a shared universe that came to be known as the DC Extended Universe. Of course, such a franchise would not be complete without Batman — as played by Academy Award winner and former Marvel movie actor (from 2003’s Daredevil) Ben Affleck… but he would not be the only one.
Before we get into where you can relive Batman’s appearances in the DCEU, let’s take a quick look at every film in this now-defunct shared universe by order of release date:
- Man of Steel (2013)
- Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)
- Suicide Squad (2016)
- Wonder Woman (2017)
- Justice League (2017)
- Aquaman (2018)
- Shazam! (2019)
- Birds Of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn (2020)
- Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)
- Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021)
- Black Adam (2022)
- Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023)
- The Flash (2023)
- Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023)
Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice (2016)
Director: Zack Snyder
Starring: Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill
What it’s about: The Dark Knight is sent down a path toward vengeful conflict with the Man of Steel, as the godly Kryptonian’s own heroism is also put under intense scrutiny.
More about the Batman movie: In 2013, Affleck was announced as Bale’s successor for a gruffer, older, beefier, and arguably better take on Batman in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, which is also available as a three-hour “ultimate” cut.
How to watch Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
Suicide Squad (2016)
Director: David Ayer
Starring: Will Smith, Margot Robbie
What it’s about: A group of Gotham City’s most dangerous criminals are offered less time in jail time in exchange for doin Amanda Waller’s dirty work on Task Force X.
More about the Batman movie: Affleck made a brief, but memorable, appearance in Suicide Squad, just a few months after Batman v Superman, In two of the best sequences (in addition to a mid-credits cameo) from DC’s supervillain crossover flick.
Justice League (2017)
Director: Zack Snyder, Joss Whedon
Starring: Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot
What it’s about: Seeking redemption for the mistake that led to Clark Kent’s demise, Bruce Wayne seeks out a crew of powerful people to help him defend Earth from an impending, otherworldly threat.
More about the Batman movie: While some may assume Superman is the de facto leader of the Justice League, it is this more hopeful Batman calling the shots in the first cinematic interpretation of DC’s most powerful heroes uniting.
Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021)
Director: Zack Snyder
Starring: Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot
What it’s about: A disparate group of powerful people are brought together to take on an unearthly enemy.
More about the Batman movie: Seeking redemption for the mistakes that led to Justice League‘s disappointing critical and commercial reception, Warner Bros. decided to #ReleaseTheSnyderCut as a four-hour Max exclusive that boasts some of Batfleck’s most badass moments.
How to watch Zack Snyder’s Justice League
The Flash (2023)
Director: Andy Muschiett
Starring: Ezra Miller, Michael Keaton
What it’s about: After discovering he can use his lightning-fast speed to alter the past, Barry Allen finds himself trapped in a doomed alternate reality, leading him to ask for some help.
More about the Batman movie: The DC Multiverse-spanning adventure, The Flash (currently one of the DC movies on Netflix), not only features Affleck’s Batman but also Keaton in an awesome return to the role and one other surprise cameo at the end that we will let you find out on your own.
The Batman Epic Crime Saga
The Batman (2022)
Director: Matt Reeves
Starring: Robert Pattinson, Zoë Kravitz
What it’s about: Bruce Wayne investigates a sadistic killer who likes to leave riddles at the scene of the crime.
More about the Batman movie: Reeves reinterprets the Dark Knight as the hard-boiled detective fans had been dying to see on the big screen in The Batman, which also reimagines Gotham City as a grimy cesspool of corruption nearly beyond saving and boasts, arguably, the franchise’s best chase scene yet.
There are so many different versions of Batman for any fan to enjoy, with some even preferring the DCAU’s version of Batman, voiced by the late Kevin Conroy. It looks like a sequel to The Batman is in the works and yet another big-screen interpretation of the Dark Knight is about to be added to the mix as part of James Gunn and Peter Safran’s new DC Universe — a job Alan Ritchson said he would do in a heartbeat. Enjoy this binge of all the live-action Batman movies so far — which is subject to change with all the upcoming Batman movies on the horizon — at any Bat-time, any Bat-place, and (sometimes) on various Bat-channels.