If you need to watch the Batman films so as, you are in the correct place. Batman first swooped onto our screens in 1943. Since then, the Caped Crusader has saved the individuals of Gotham from impending doom time and time once more, battling villains like Bane, the Joker, Poison Ivy, Penguin and lots of extra.
Over the years, many actors have taken on the position of the Dark Knight, together with Michael Keaton, Christian Bale and, extra not too long ago, Robert Pattinson in The Batman. But we’re not right here to debate one of the best Batman performances and which Bats is our favourite. Instead, this information focuses on chronology and launch date. Which means those that need to be strict about it and watch the Batman films so as know precisely the place to start.
How to observe the Batman films in launch date order
Want to know find out how to stream the Batman films so as of their launch dates? Read on:
- Batman (1943)
- Batman and Robin (1949)
- Batman: The Movie (1966)
- Batman (1989)
- Batman Returns (1992)
- Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993)
- Batman Forever (1995)
- Batman & Robin (1997)
- Batman Begins (2005)
- The Dark Knight (2008)
- The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
- Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)
- Suicide Squad (2016)
- The Lego Batman Movie (2017)
- Justice League (2017)
- Joker (2019)
- The Batman (2022)
Beyond the large Bat franchises, Bruce Wayne and his crime-fighting alter-ego have made quite a few different huge display screen appearances – beginning within the Forties, when a serialized detective drama was made to money in on the newfound recognition of a personality who had made his comedian e book debut in 1939. Lewis Wilson performed the title position in 1943’s Batman, with Robert Lowery taking up for 1949’s Batman and Robin.
The character’s subsequent big-screen look got here in 1966, when Hollywood determined to capitalize on the success of the tongue-in-cheek Adam West-led TV present. It’s a film with loads of villains, and likewise the origin of the long-lasting Shark Repellent Batspray – a vital merchandise within the bat-arsenal that will be absent from the large display screen till The Lego Batman Movie in 2017.
Batman has additionally been an enormous participant on this planet of animation, headlining a pair of big-screen cartoons. The wonderful Batman: Mask of the Phantasm took the critically acclaimed Batman: The Animated Series to the cinema and, almost 25 years later, The Lego Batman Movie made life in Gotham look extra enjoyable that it had been at any time because the Nineteen Sixties.
Batman was additionally a supporting participant in The Lego Movie and The Lego Movie 2, and made a quick look within the critically acclaimed Joker – albeit as a pre-Caped Crusader Bruce Wayne, pressured to endure the lack of his dad and mom (but once more). Batman’s additionally referenced elsewhere within the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) in Shazam!, Harley Quinn, Birds of Prey, and – although he’s not seen on display screen in Wonder Woman – it’s Bruce Wayne who sends Diana the photograph that prompts her to flashback to the occasions of World War I.
How to observe the Batman films in chronological order
When it involves cinematic reboots, no different superhero can compete with Batman. Robert Pattinson’s 2022 debut in The Batman kicked off the Caped Crusader’s fourth big-screen continuity, which was one other reboot that left cinematic mainstays Superman and Spider-Man within the mud.
Before you ask, too – no, there’s zero continuity between these numerous Bat-franchises. With that in thoughts, under, we have damaged don the long-lasting vigilante’s live-action film eras so that you can digest (NB: Batman’s animated movie information follows later):
The Tim Burton/Joel Schumacher period
- 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)
DC Extended Universe
- Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)
- Suicide Squad (2016)
- Justice League (2017)
The Batman Epic Crime Saga
Given Bats’ enduring recognition, it’s outstanding that Hollywood didn’t give him a significant film franchise earlier than 1989, when director Tim Burton pitted Michael Keaton’s Bruce Wayne towards Jack Nicholson’s scenery-chewing Joker. It turned the second highest-grossing movie of that yr, so a sequel was inevitable – and the darker, weirder Batman Returns is without doubt one of the most wilfully, splendidly weird superhero films ever made, albeit it made significantly much less on the field workplace than its predecessor.
Batman Forever noticed Joel Schumacher take over behind the digicam, with Val Kilmer donning the cape. Despite being a industrial success, this foolish, neon-drenched threequel was moderately much less common with critics – although worse was to return. Two years later, Batman & Robin all-but-killed the franchise with a film that recurrently options in “worst ever” lists, and made certain George Clooney had an inauspicious begin to his profession as an A-lister.
An eight-year absence from the large display screen adopted till Gotham City’s saviour got here within the unlikely type of Christopher Nolan along with his gritty, lifelike imaginative and prescient for the Caped Crusader. Starting with Batman Begins, the Christian Bale-starring Dark Knight trilogy stays one of many excessive factors within the historical past of superhero films, with motion sequences to die for and real ethical complexity. Sadly, Nolan’s story was at all times going to be a three-movie deal, so Batman was going to require one other reboot after 2012’s The Dark Knight Rises. It in the end got here as a part of DC’s efforts to tackle the all-conquering Marvel Cinematic Universe – although this time, Bats wouldn’t be the one headline attraction.
A sequel to 2013’s Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice got down to spontaneously kickstart an MCU-style shared universe with the now defunct DCEU. However, with Ben Affleck assuming the mantle of an older, nastier Batman unafraid to interrupt the character’s cardinal rule about killing, this incarnation was a tough one to like, so it was a gentle reduction when he lightened up for his appearances in Suicide Squad (primarily a glorified cameo) and Justice League. Sadly, each of these films have been dreadful.
Just a few years later, Matt Reeves took the helm of The Batman, forged Robert Pattinson as his Bruce Wayne/Batman, and pitted him towards a rogues’ gallery of basic Bat-foes, together with Catwoman (Zoë Kravitz), Riddler (Paul Dano), and The Penguin (Colin Farrell). As we mentioned in our full The Batman evaluate, we adored this new tackle the Dark Knight.
How to observe the animated Batman films so as
As befits a billionaire playboy with cash to burn, Batman was by no means going to be happy with solely conquering the large display screen. Subsequently, he is appeared in quite a few animated direct-to-video/TV films over the course of his eventful lifetime.
His earlier feature-length animated outings have been spin-offs from common TV cartoon sequence – as sequels to Mask of the Phantasm, Batman and Mr Freeze: SubZero, and Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman have been successfully spin-offs from the acclaimed Batman: The Original Series/The New Batman Adventures. Meanwhile, Return of the Joker was primarily based within the universe of the future-set Batman Beyond, and the style mashing The Batman vs Dracula was a part of the 2000s The Batman TV present.
However, it is over the past decade that Batman has grow to be significantly lively on the animated film entrance. Indeed, some have been such an enormous deal that they’ve been given one-night-only cinematic releases to tie in with their debut on dwelling leisure codecs.
While many of those movies have been primarily based on authentic tales or set in DC’s Animated Movie Universe, the road has been most notable for bringing basic standalone tales from the Batman comedian books (reminiscent of Batman: Year One, The Dark Knight Returns and The Killing Joke) to the display screen.
Batman’s feature-length providing is rounded off with a pair of animated tales set within the universe of the ’60s TV sequence (these embrace the late Adam West’s final outing within the position, and his Batman’s first encounter with Two-Face); the Japanese-made Batman Ninja; and unlikely team-ups with Scooby-Doo and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Here, then, is find out how to watch the Batman films so as on the animation entrance:
Batman: The Animated Series/The New Batman Adventures
- Batman and Mr Freeze: SubZero (1998)
- Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman (2003)
Batman Beyond
- Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (2000)
The Batman
- The Batman vs Dracula (2005)
DC Universe Animated Original Movies
- Justice League: The New Frontier (2008)
- Batman: Gotham Knight (2008)
- Superman/Batman: Public Enemies (2009)
- Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths (2010)
- Batman: Under the Red Hood (2010)
- Superman/Batman: Apocalypse (2010)
- Batman: Year One (2011)
- Justice League: Doom (2012)
- Batman: The Dark Knight Returns Part 1 (2012)
- Batman: The Dark Knight Returns Part 2 (2013)
- Justice League: Paradox (2013)
- Justice League: War (2014)
- Son of Batman (2014)
- Batman: Assault on Arkham (2014)
- Justice League: Throne of Atlantis (2015)
- Batman vs Robin (2015)
- Justice League: Gods and Monsters (2015)
- Batman: Bad Blood (2016)
- Batman: The Killing Joke (2016)
- Batman and Harley Quinn (2017)
- Batman: Gotham by Gaslight (2018)
- Justice League vs the Fatal Five (2019)
- Batman: Hush (2019)
Batman 66
- Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders (2016)
- Batman vs Two-Face (2017)
Japanese-made film
Cartoon spin-offs
- Scooby-Doo! & Batman: The Brave and the Bold (2018)
- Batman vs Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2019)
What are one of the best Batman films?
Seeing as Batman’s cinema appearances traverse a near-85 yr spell, it’s no shock there’s been a large vary of fashion and tone. But few franchises in historical past – even James Bond – have had such a big variation in high quality.
Our finest Batman films information is value studying to see what we made of every live-action flick, however you can too take a look at each’s IMDb consumer score under to see who wins out from a wider pool of reviewers.
Where to observe the Batman films
Now you understand how to observe the Batman films so as and that are one of the best, it is time to discover them. Depending in your location, you will must verify your favourite streaming providers to see which of one of the best Batman films can be found.
If you are within the US, you will discover many of the finest Batman films on Max and Apple TV Plus. This contains the latest Batman films, The Batman and Joker. This is the place you will additionally discover Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy and even earlier Batman’s, like Tim Burton’s Batman Returns. If you are within the US and also you need animated Batman, you will discover The Lego Batman Movie on Max and Crunchyroll.
If you are within the UK, issues aren’t as easy. For instance, The Batman is on the market on Amazon’s Prime Video. But then many different trendy Batman films are solely obtainable by Sky’s providers, like The Dark Knight and Justice League. But if you cannot discover the Batman film you need by a streamer you are subscribed to, a lot of them can be found to hire or purchase through Amazon’s Prime Video or Apple TV Plus, like Joker.
If you are in Australia, Netflix must be your first port of name for Batman films. At the time of writing, we discovered Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy on Netflix, in addition to a number of different prime Batman films, like Joker and Justice League. Some of one of the best Batman films are additionally on the Foxtel Now streaming service, together with 2022’s The Batman and Batman Returns.
For extra Batman protection, see the place all three Dark Knight films positioned in our greatest Christopher Nolan films ranked piece or which of them made it onto our greatest superhero films record. Alternatively, learn the way to stream them as a part of our DC films so as information and be taught what Batman tasks are in improvement as a part of DCU Chapter One.