Batman is one of the most iconic heroes in comic book history, serving as one of DC Comics’ longest running franchises.
The Dark Knight has been entertaining fans since the early age of comic books and has remained popular long enough to see superhero films become their own successful genre of television and film.
With so much Batman-related media available for our viewing pleasure, it would be impossible to watch it all in a week’s time, with new movies and television series being released regularly.
How Many Batman Movies Are There?
There are currently 66 Batman movies, including his collaborative films such as the Justice League series.
Batman first made his way to the silver screen in 1966 with Batman: The Movie, featuring Adam West as the Dark Knight and Cesar Romero as the Joker.
A majority of Batman films are animated, but not all animated series are suitable for children.
Even the movies that are suitable for children are worth a watch from older audiences, with family-friendly favorites including Batman: Mask of the Phantasm from 1993 or Batman vs. Two-Face from 2017.
Most of Batman’s films are considered to be PG-13, due to acts of violence or foul language.
Some of the best animated films suitable for an older age range include Son of Batman, Batman: Under the Red Hood, Justice League vs. Teen Titans, and Batman Ninja.
Many of Batman’s most recent films have been a part of the Lego animated franchise, starting with Lego Batman: The Movie—DC Heroes Unite from 2013.
He also became a major character in The Lego Movie in 2014.
Batman became just a popular character from The Lego Movie series that he got his own Lego film that focused on his universe called The Lego Batman Movie in 2017.
While The Lego Movie allowed Batman to interact with a variety of different characters from different franchises, it wasn’t his first crossover.
Batman has both fought and befriended some of the biggest animated figures in television history in films such as The Batman vs. Dracula and Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
The Caped Crusader has also been in countless films about other DC Comics heroes.
Batman and Superman first began going up against each other on the silver screen in 2009 with the animated film Superman/Batman: Public Enemies.
What’s The Best Order To Watch The Batman Movies?
Even the biggest Batman fan may find it difficult to sit through 66 different movies of varying target audiences and genres.
Rather than watching one of every type of movie, most Batman fans recommend watching a movie from each era of Batman.
Batman eras are normally categorized by their lead actor or the director of the film.
Each actor and director to take over the franchise has left their own mark on Batman history, which is why getting to know each era of Batman is so important.
The first movie you will want to watch is Batman: The Movie from 1966, which is part of the Adam West era.
Adam West’s Batman is known for being the most cartoonish and morally upstanding, a stark contrast to the modern Batman films.
The next movie on the list is Batman from 1989, which is a part of the Michael Keaton era or Tim Burton era.
Keaton’s portrayal of the Caped Crusader is considered to be one of the best thanks to the actor’s ability to balance comedy and drama.
Michael Keaton went on to reprise his role in 1992 for Batman Returns, starring Danny Devito and Michelle Pfeiffer.
This film offers one of the largest arrays of classic Batman villains and allies, such as the Penguin, Catwoman, and Harvey Dent.
Batman Forever was released in 1995, starring Jim Carrey as the Riddler and Tommy Lee Jones as Two-Face.
This is the only film in the Val Kilmer era.
The next major era of Batman to watch is the George Clooney era, including the 1997 Batman & Robin.
It’s the last comedic Batman era before the Christian Bale trilogy, which is worth watching all three movies.
The Ben Affleck era began with Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice in 2016 and continues to this day.
Why Do They Keep Making Batman Movies?
DC Comics and Warner Bros. keep making Batman movies because they are incredibly profitable, even after creating decades of Batman content.
Even when the film isn’t good or well received by audiences, Batman movies will always make a profit.
One of the infamously worst Batman live-action films is Batman & Robin, but it still managed to be the 13th highest-grossing film to be released in 1997.
Although some critics wonder how Warner Bros. doesn’t grow tired of making movies about the Dark Knight, they’re still a company that is looking to make a solid profit at the end of the day.
Across both film and his comic book series, DC Comics is also heavily profiting from the protector of Gotham City.
Throughout 2021, Batman comics and graphic novels dominated the best-selling comic charts.
Warner Bros. is able to generate enough attention for all their Batman projects by watching the waves of audience reception.
When live-action Batman films begin to lose their popularity, more animated series are released to entertain the long-term fans.
The demand for Batman-related projects rarely drops thanks to Batman’s ability to appeal to superhero fans of all ages.
As long as the demand is high, Warner Bros. is going to supply the public with plenty of the Caped Crusader.
Another reason Batman films continue to be created is that there are 80 years worth of stories to cover in film.
The canonical story of Batman is not only multi-generational, it’s almost spread across multiple universes.
The Batman franchise isn’t always about Bruce Wayne’s story of how he came to be the Dark Knight.
There are plenty of stories surrounding Batgirl, Nightwing, Red Hood, Red Robin, Alfred Pennyworth, and the Joker.
Fans want to see more of Batman’s allies appear in their own live-action films.
How Many Batman Television Shows Are There?
There are 15 animated Batman television series and one live-action series, with Adam West’s Batman being the only live-action portrayal to get his own television series.
Batman was first enjoyed on television screens across the United States in 1966 and continued to be a hit series until 1968.
Shortly after Batman ended in 1968, Batman received his first animated series, originally called The Adventures of Batman, later being renamed Batman with Robin the Boy Wonder.
Since it was made by Hanna-Barbera, this series often did crossovers with the Scooby-Doo franchise before it ended in 1969.
Batman wouldn’t be seen on television again until 1973 with the arrival of Super Friends, which was renamed multiple times.
This series has 93 different episodes and aired until 1986.
In 1977, Batman was given his own show called The New Adventures of Batman.
One of the beloved Batman television series is Batman: The Animated Series, which aired 85 episodes from 1992 until 1995.
Fans praise the voice-acting cast and the well-thought writing that makes the show entertaining for children and adults alike.
After Batman: The Animated Series was canceled, it was replaced by The New Batman Adventures in 1997 and continued until 1999.
This series gave the Joker a less goofy redesign and more deeply explored who Harley Quinn was.
Batman Beyond was introduced in 1999 and was the first animated series to retire Bruce Wayne as Batman.
Instead, this series follows the story of Terry McGinnis as he takes over the role of the Caped Crusader.
In 2004, Batman underwent his own redesign in The Batman, in which the Dark Knight upgraded his Batcave and tool belt to include enough gadgets to put James Bond to shame.
Soon, Batman will be getting a new series known as Batman: Caped Crusader in 2023.
In Which Series Does Mark Hamill Voice The Joker?
Mark Hamill voices the Joker in Batman: The Animated Series, Superman: The Animated Series, The New Batman Animated Series, Static Shock, 2002 Birds of Prey, Justice League, Justice League Action Shorts, Justice League Action, Scooby-Doo and Guess Who?, and Robot Chicken.
Hamill has also voiced the Clown Prince of Crime in films such as Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, The Batman Superman Movie: World’s Finest, Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, and Batman: The Killing Joke.
The Star Wars actor has even made a name for himself in the world of video game voice acting, mostly appearing as the voice for the Joker.
Hamill’s voice is used in games such as The Adventures of Batman & Robin, Batman: Vengeance, Batman: Arkham Asylum, DC Universe Online, and View-Master Batman Animated VR.
Fans of Mark Hamill’s previous work were shocked when he first became the voice of the Joker in Batman: The Animated Series.
This villainous clown is so far removed from Hamill’s most famous role as Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars franchise.
According to a post that Hamill made on Twitter, he wanted to play the Joker because he was looking for a character that was the opposite of Luke Skywalker in every way.
Not only did Hamill find a role that was everything he was looking for, but he also found the role that would become his all-time favorite.
One of Mark Hamill’s favorite parts about being the Joker is being able to show off his darker side and being able to scare his young fans.
Not only does Hamill love portraying the Joker, but he is also the most beloved voice actor in the Batman franchise.
Although Hamill may be getting older, he has no intention of letting go of his role as Batman’s most famous villain anytime soon.
Are The Batman And Joker In The Same Universe?
No, The Batman with Robert Pattinson and Joker starring Joaquin Phoenix are not from the same universe.
Although it is canon that each Batman spawns the creation of a Joker, these two movies were created to be completely unrelated to one another.
Since the two movies share similar tones and came out one after the other, many fans believed that these films were setting up a crossover film with both of these unique iterations of their respective main characters.
However, Matt Reeves has quickly come out against these theories.
If these movies were going to lead to a crossover film, the makeup department would have to age Joaquin Phoenix by several decades.
Joker takes place in 1981, while the story of The Batman doesn’t start until 2021.
Phoenix’s Joker was already middle-aged by the events of Joker, meaning that the Joker would be in his 70s or 80s by the time the events of The Batman even began.
Viewers are also introduced to a 10-year-old Bruce Wayne in Joker, who would have to be about 50 years old by 2021.
Robert Pattinson’s Batman is only in his second year of crime fighting, meaning that the Bruce Wayne seen in The Batman and Joker can’t be the same person from the same universe.
Bruce Wayne’s parents appear in both films, but they are killed off in different ways.
According to Joker, the Waynes died as the result of a citywide riot.
However, The Batman has the Waynes become targeted and killed by one of Carmine Falcone’s hit men.
It was purely confidential that both Matt Reeves and Todd Phillips decided to explore the darker side of their respective characters.
Both films take a look at the serious, psychological damage caused by taking on such high-profile roles in Gotham City.
Is Ben Affleck Still Batman?
Yes, Ben Affleck is going to continue portraying Batman in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom and The Flash.
However, Affleck has recently stated that he wants to be done with the role as soon as possible and could fully step down as Batman at any time.
Similar to how each of the other modern members of the Justice League has gotten their own films, Ben Affleck’s Batman was going to get his own stand-alone film before Affleck turned down the opportunity.
This decision has made Ben Affleck’s Batman the only iteration to not be seen in his own film.
According to Matt Reeves, the plot for the scrapped Batman film was going to be more like a James Bond film than a traditional Batman movie.
Luckily, Reeves was able to transform his idea for Affleck’s Batman into The Batman for Robert Pattinson.
Unlike The Batman, the scrapped film was going to focus on the gadgets used by Batman.
While Batman has always been known for his array of bat-themed gadgets, these trinkets were going to be more realistic and less cartoonish.
The film was also going to introduce Deathstroke as Batman’s main enemy.
Although Alfred Pennyworth has always played a major role in Bruce Wayne’s success as Batman, the loyal butler was going to step up into a role that was more similar to Q in the James Bond franchise.
This film was also going to be used to introduce Batgirl, which could be part of the reason the Batgirl film was canceled.
With Affleck stepping away, the producers of the Batman live-action franchise have to rethink their long-term plan of action.
