The Big Picture

• Batman has been a popular character for decades, with numerous actors and filmmakers bringing him to life on the big screen.
• The article provides a guide on how to watch all the live-action Batman movies in chronological order of events and release dates.
• Matt Reeves' The Batman introduces a new take on the character, played by Robert Pattinson, and explores Batman's early years as a detective.

You might have noticed over the last, oh, several decades, but Batman is a pretty popular character. You also probably know the major beats by now: a murder in an alleyway, a cascading set of pearls, a billionaire playboy who moonlights as an ass-kicker with a laundry list of emotional issues that can't be locked away in Arkham. But that hasn't kept audiences from clamoring for more Batman, a character who has swapped actors and filmmakers almost as much as James Bond. With the success of The Batman and the excitement over its upcoming sequel, it might be time for a full Bat-fresher. If you're wondering exactly how to dive in, we've got you. Below, you'll find a list of how to watch every live-action Batman movie in chronological order, followed by how to watch them in order of release. (Yes, they're relatively the same, but the exact continuity between them is worth explaining.)

A quick note: The below does not include the 1966 Adam West/Burt Ward team-up Batman: The Movie or the 1993 animated feature Batman: Mask of the Phantasm because both fit into their respective TV chronology, but they are both great and worth watching!

The Batman

PG-13SuperheroActionCrimeThriller

In a dark city plagued by crime and corruption, a masked crusader investigates a puzzling string of crimes linked by cryptic messages. His journey into the depths of the city's sinister underworld reveals connections among its most powerful citizens and forces him to confront his own complex relationship with justice.

Release Date March 4, 2022 Director Matt Reeves Cast Robert Pattinson , Colin Farrell , Paul Dano , Andy Serkis , Peter Sarsgaard , Zoe Kravitz Runtime 176 minutes

Batman Movies in Chronological Order of Events

The '90s Movies

Batman

Of course, when we say "the '90s," that includes 1989, when Tim Burton introduced a brand-new bat in the form of Michael Keaton's truly unhinged Bruce Wayne. Batman takes place vaguely early on in the Caped Crusader's crime-fighting career, on the eve of Gotham City's 200-year anniversary. We also witness an origin story for Batman's greatest foe, The Joker, played here with iconic energy by Jack Nicholson.

Batman Returns

Arguably the weirdest — and objectively the horniest — Batman film ever made, Burton's Batman Returns technically begins 33 years in the past, as a flashback shows us the grotesque origins of Oswald Cobblepot, a.k.a. The Penguin (Danny DeVito). The bulk of the story takes place not long after Batman, as Keaton's Dark Knight contends with both Penguin and the best live-action DC movie villain, ever, Michelle Pfeiffer's Catwoman.

Batman Forever

Batman Forever swaps director Tim Burton for Joel Schumacher, replaces Keaton with Val Kilmer under the cape and cowl, and introduces a brand new cocaine-rave-by-way-of-art-deco aesthetic to Gotham City. Despite the tonal whiplash, Batman Forever does technically take place shortly after Batman Returns, introducing The Riddler (Jim Carrey) and Two-Face (Tommy Lee Jones) to Batman's live-action rogues' gallery. The film also marks the first appearance of Chris O'Donnell as sidekick Dick Grayson, a.k.a. Robin.

Batman & Robin

For Batman & Robin, Schumacher stayed aboard, but George Clooney stepped in as Bruce Wayne. Picking up a few months after Batman Forever, this sequel sees the titular crime-fighting duo, now a well-oiled partnership, taking on the villainous pair-up of Mr. Freeze (Arnold Schwarzenegger) and Poison Ivy (Uma Thurman). The final chapter of this particular Batman era, Batman & Robin also marks the only live-action appearance of Batgirl, played here by Alicia Silverstone.

The Dark Knight Trilogy

Batman Begins

Director Christopher Nolan kicked off his critically-acclaimed trilogy with a young Bruce Wayne's formative tumble into a bat-filled well. 14 years later, we meet Christian Bale's Bruce as he decides to leave Gotham, traveling the world and training under Henri Ducard (Liam Neeson) in the League of Shadows. After seven years, Bruce returns to Gotham and begins his crusade against crime, as Dr. Jonathan Crane (Cillian Murphy) amps up his fear-based experiments under the moniker Scarecrow.

The Dark Knight

Nolan's second Batman movie kicks off about six months after Batman Begins, as the Joker (Heath Ledger), teased in the final scene of the previous movie, is now a well-known criminal terrorizing Gotham.

The Dark Knight Rises

The concluding chapter of Nolan's trilogy takes place eight years after The Dark Knight, with Bruce Wayne coming out of a long bat-retirement thanks to the arrival of a terrorist known as Bane (Tom Hardy).

The DCEU

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

Zack Snyder brought his Batman (Ben Affleck) to the big screen in the immediate aftermath of Man of Steel, in which the final fight between Superman (Henry Cavill) and General Zod (Michael Shannon) levels a large portion of Metropolis. In Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, we're introduced to a Bruce Wayne deep into his crime-fighting career, a traumatized Caped Crusader who is getting a little lax on his no-kill policies.

Suicide Squad

While the bulk of Suicide Squad takes place exactly one year after Batman v Superman, the parts featuring Batman are told in flashback as he rounds up villains like Deadshot (Will Smith) and Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie).

Justice League

Batman, along with Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot), attempts to put a superhero team together in Justice League two years after the end of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

Zack Snyder's Justice League

See above, and for more details, head here.

The Matt Reeves Version

Close

The Batman

What started as another entry into the DCEU with Ben Affleck as Bruce Wayne eventually became Matt Reeves' own take on the caped crusader. Switching out Affleck for a younger, more emo, Nirvana-loving Batman played by Robert Pattinson, The Batman explores a Year Two Batman, leaning far more into the detective side of the vigilante. Rounding out the cast is Zoë Kravitz as Selina Kyle, giving Michelle Pfeiffer a run for her money, Paul Dano as the Riddler, Jeffrey Wright as Jim Gordon, Colin Farrell as the Penguin, and Andy Serkis as Alfred. With another movie firmly in development, the possibilities of where Pattinson's Bruce Wayne will go are endless.

Batman Movies in Order of Release Date

And here is every live-action Batman movie in order of when they were released:

Batman - June 23, 1989

Batman Returns - June 19, 1992

Batman Forever - June 16, 1995

Batman & Robin - June 20, 1997

Batman Begins - June 25, 2005

The Dark Knight - July 18, 2008

The Dark Knight Rises - July 20, 2012

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice - March 25, 2016

Suicide Squad - August 5, 2016

Justice League - November 17, 2017

Zack Snyder's Justice League - March 18, 2021

The Batman - March 4, 2021

The Batman 2 - October 3, 2025

Therese Lacson also contributed to this article.

The Batman is available to stream on Max in the U.S.

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