Seven actors have donned the cape and cowl across nearly 60 years of live-action Batman movies.
For those interested in embarking on the complete big-screen Batman journey, we've compiled a largely spoiler-free* list of every Batman movie ordered by release date, from oldest to newest.
There are 13 Batman movies — 11 live-action and two animated. While Bats appears in dozens of films, this list only compiles feature-length theatrical releases in which Batman is a main character.
Although you can easily stream Batman movies online, owning physical copies guarantees you'll always have them. If you're looking to grab a Blu-ray set of your favorite Batman eras, we've gathered some of the best ones below.
his excludes the bulk of animated Batman movies (including The Killing Joke, which appeared in theaters for just one day) and movies like Suicide Squad in which Batman isn’t a lead figure.
Every Batman Movie in Order
#1 Nolan's Batman Trilogy
The Batman
Eight years after the underwhelming Batman & Robin, DC’s flagship hero returned under the direction of Christopher Nolan. Nolan and new Batman actor Christian Bale introduced moviegoers to a grittier Gotham City. The trilogy’s first film, Batman Begins, provides Nolan’s take on the Batman origin story, eventually pitting our hero against the likes of eminent DC villains Scarecrow (Cillian Murphy) and Ra’s al Ghul (Liam Neeson). Begins also introduces Nolan’s Pennyworth (Michael Caine), Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman), and James Gordon (Gary Oldman). Katie Homes plays Bruce’s love interest, Rachel Dawes, before she was replaced by Maggie Gyllenhaal in The Dark Knight.
#2 Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
The Batman Vs Superman
Four years later, Batman entered the DCEU in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Ben Affleck’s Batman starred opposite Henry Cavill’s Superman in the big-budget battle of DC’s most famous heroes. It’s a messy, action-heavy blockbuster that brings together many of the biggest names in DC Comics: Batman, Superman, Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg), and Lois Lane (Amy Adams), to name a few. The movie also serves as Zack Snyder’s setup to Justice League. BvS is among the most-profitable Batman movies at the box office and among the worst-reviewed on Rotten Tomatoes.
#3 The LEGO Batman Movie (2017)
LEGO Batman
The second of two animated movies on this list, The LEGO Batman Movie is a fun, cameo-packed adventure centered around another Batman-Joker conflict. Will Arnett as Batman leads a voice cast directed by Chris McKay (Renfield). Supporting cast members include Zach Galifianakis as Joker, Michael Cera as Robin, Rosario Dawson as Barbara Gordon, Channing Tatum as Superman, Billy Dee Williams as Two-Face, Conan O'Brien as Riddler, and Zoe Kravitz as Catwoman (before she portrayed the character in 2022's The Batman). The LEGO Batman Movie also pulls in characters from across the world of LEGO, including King Kong, Voldemort, Sauron, Gremlins, and others. It’s the second-highest-rated Batman movie on Rotten Tomatoes behind only The Dark Knight.
#4 The Batman (2022)
Robbert Pattinson's Batman
Matt Reeves’s turn at the helm began with 2022’s The Batman, a moody crime thriller that IGN awarded a rare review score of 10/10. Robert Pattinson stars as a pained, antisocial version of Bruce Wayne/Batman investigating the murder of Gotham City mayor Don Mitchell Jr. Joining Pattinson is Zoe Kravitz as Catwoman, Colin Farrell as Penguin, Paul Dano as Riddler, Jeffrey Wright as James Gordon, Andy Serkis as Alfred, and John Turturro as mobster Carmine Falcone. It’s a must-watch movie for Batman fans and the first in what DC boss James Gunn has called Reeves’s “Batman Crime Saga,” which is planned across three films. It's arguably one of Robert Pattinson's best films to date.
The Batman – Part II (2026)??
The next Batman movie is The Batman – Part II, a sequel to 2022’s The Batman once again directed by Matt Reeves and starring Robert Pattinson. There’s no word on plot details yet, but we know the film’s scheduled release has been pushed back to October 2, 2026.
