Timeline Unveiled: All Batman Movies in Canonical Order

Can I Watch Batman Movies in Order? Yes, you can watch Batman Movies in Order easily in their chronological order, as we shared below. However, if you cannot watch Batman due to geo-restrictions in your country, feel free to use a reliable VPN that can mask your IP address for you and provide you access to all Batman movies outside the USA. For that, we highly recommend ExpressVPN.

All Batman Movies in Order with Year of Release Date

• Batman: The Movie (1966)
• Batman (1989)
• Batman Returns (1992)
• Batman: The 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)
• The Lego Batman Movie (2017)
• Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021)
• The Batman (2022)

Batman: The Movie (1966)

• Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy
• Language: English
• Runtime: 1h 45min
• IMDb: 6.5/10

In 1966, Batman made his theatrical debut, inspired by the successful TV series starring Adam West. Once again, West donned the iconic cape and cowl to portray the legendary Caped Crusader. The film presented a thrilling showdown as Batman and debutsidekick Robin (Burt Ward) faced off against a formidable group known as the United Underworld.

This nefarious alliance comprised the Joker (Cesar Romero), Riddler (Frank Gorshin), Penguin (Burgess Meredith), and Catwoman (Lee Meriwether). Their arsenal included a dehydrating device capable of reducing unfortunate victims to mere dust.

Compared to the darker and grittier Batman adaptations of today, this campy ’60s film embraced a significantly lighter tone.

Batman (1989)

• Genre: Action, Adventure
• Language: English
• Runtime: 2h 6min
• IMDb: 7.5/10

Batman revolves around the plot where a wealthy orphan, Bruce Wayne, strives to save his city from evil and keeps his identity hidden by masking himself as ‘Batman.’ He chose the path of being a savior after watching his parents getting mugged as a child, which grew a feeling of protectiveness in him for his people.

Bruces’s latest rival includes Jack Napier, who turns into an evil villain ‘Joker’ and plans to turn their entire city into his pawn. Watch Batman to watch how the heroic acts of Bruce Wayne keep his city safe from all the troubles that Joker and his likes cause.

Batman Returns (1992)

• Genre: Action, Adventure
• Language: English
• Runtime: 2h 6min
• IMDb: 7.1/10

As promised by Bruce that his city will return when they need him, he returns to save them when a rising entrepreneur, Max, and a criminal, Penguin, join forces to turn Gotham City into a center of violence and chaos. The film also sees the debut of Catwoman in the form of Selina Kyle, who makes it her mission to kill Max as he attempts to kill her by pushing her out the window.

Batman Returns is a captivating watch of action, revenge, and even togetherness, as the movie shows the blooming relationship of Bruce and Selina as they keep their identities a secret from each other.

Batman: The Mask of the Phantasm (1993)

• Genre: Animation, Action, Adventure
• Language: English
• Runtime: 1h 16min
• IMDb: 7.8/10

“The Mask of the Phantasm,” the first animated Batman film to hit theaters, drew inspiration from the beloved Batman animated TV series of the ’90s. Produced during the gap between the show’s first and second seasons, the film made its debut on Christmas Day in 1993.

Within The Mask of the Phantasm, the narrative intertwines the stories of three key characters: Batman, voiced by the iconic Kevin Conroy, and Joker, portrayed by Mark Hamill. And the enigmatic Phantasm, whose voice actor’s name is intentionally withheld to avoid revealing spoilers.

Conroy, whose remarkable portrayal defined Batman’s voice, continued to lend his talent to the character for over three decades, spanning TV shows, movies, and video games. Unfortunately, Conroy passed away in 2022, leaving behind an enduring legacy.

Batman Forever (1995)

• Genre: Action and Adventure
• Language: English
• Runtime: 2h 2min
• IMDb: 5.4/10

When a court incident leaves him with a disfigured face, criminal Two-Face, with a dissociative identity disorder, vows to take revenge by harming Batman. He is joined by Edward Nygma, a researcher at Wayne Enterprises, who becomes Batman’s mortal enemy when Batman rejects his invention since it could potentially harm people.

Batman Forever is a one-of-a-kind film with its gripping story arc and the fact that this is where he finds his loyal sidekick, Robin, to assist him in his adventures to save Gotham City.

Batman & Robin (1997)

• Genre: Action and Adventure
• Language: English
• Runtime: 2h 5min
• IMDb: 3.8/10

Things get trickier for Batman and Robin as Gotham City is threatened by Mr. Freeze and Poison Ivy, who wishes to freeze the town and repopulate it with her mutant plants. While Mr. Freeze may have his reasons for his crimes to save his wife’s life as she was suffering from MacGregor’s Syndrome, Poison Ivy does her part in manipulating Mr. Freeze into further committing crimes and framing Batman instead.

The film also gets a new superhero, Batgirl, in the form of Barbara Wilson, who saves the city along with Batman and Robin, and later joins them in fighting crimes further in the future.

Batman Begins (2005)

• Genre: Action and Adventure
• Language: English
• Runtime: 2h 20min
• IMDb: 8.2/10

Batman Begins in the life of a young Bruce Wayne who witnessed the brutal murder of his parents during a bad mugging incident. Since then, Bruce has focused on the skill of self-defense and other forms of combat to save people and himself from such incidents.

However, this does not seem enough for him as he adapts to a secret identity to save people on a mass level and returns to Gotham City as Batman. Watch the movie to see his adventures of attempting to save the city from various villains who want nothing but destruction to occur in the otherwise peaceful lives of people.

The Dark Knight (2008)

• Genre: Action and Adventure
• Language: English
• Runtime: 2h 32min
• IMDb: 9/10

The Dark Knight is one of the best superhero movies of all time, starring Heath Ledger as Joker, making the movie among the highest-grossing. The plot revolves around Batman, district attorney Harvey Dent, and police Lieutenant Jim Gordan teaming together to cleanse Gotham City from a gang of robberies that have taken over drastically.

With Joker being the mastermind behind the potential destruction of the city, he targets Batman and Dent to create conflicts between them using Dent’s love interest and Batman’s childhood friend, Rachel Dawes. The movie is as dark as it can get, with the twists viewers expect the least.

The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

• Genre: Action and Adventure
• Language: English
• Runtime: 2h 45min
• IMDb: 8.4/10

After the brutal incident that killed Batman’s childhood friend, Rachel Dawes, and a district attorney, Harvey Dent, Batman hides and keeps his identity from being revealed in the public eye. However, as the emerging villain Bane arises and causes massive destruction in the city after 8 years of peace, Batman does his best to ensure peace and stability.

Selina Kyle, known as Catwoman, also made a comeback in the film as Batman’s partner to help him in his fight. The Dark Knight Rises is a tale of justice, revenge, and power between those deemed influential in their superhuman qualities.

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)

• Genre: Action and Adventure
• Language: English
• Runtime: 2h 31min
• IMDb: 6.4/10

Batman vs. Superman revolves around the plot of Batman, aka Bruce Wayne deeming Superman, i.e., Clark Kent, as a threat to humanity based on the controversial battle between Superman and General Zod in Metropolis. So naturally motivated Batman to finish him once and for all, setting him on the path to reach Kent. Unfortunately, his search took him to Lois Lane, who happened to be Kent’s love interest, and his plan to steal kryptonite and use both against Superman.

Wayne also comes across Wonder Woman, who helps him in the face to save the city against the genetically engineered monster. The movie features a lengthy and enigmatic battle between the two superheroes who want nothing but the best for their city.

The Lego Batman Movie (2017)

• Genre: Action and Adventure
• Language: English
• Runtime: 1h 44min
• IMDb: 7.3/10

For all DC and Lego fans, the Lego Batman Movie is twice the amount of entertainment you can stream online. With Joker’s plan to admonish the city and rule it using fear and power, Batman, along with his sidekick Robin and the police commissioner’s daughter, Barbara, join forces to defeat him in his evil plans. As the heroes defeat the villains, sending them into Superman’s Phantom Zone, the new Bat Family comes together to become a force to be reckoned with.

The movie contains many sentimental moments, including Batman mending his relationship with people he hurt and adopting Dick Grayson, an enthusiastic orphan who gets inspired by Batman in his struggle not to make emotional bonds after the loss of his parents.

Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021)

• Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy
• Language: English
• Runtime: 4h 2min
• IMDb: 7.9/10

Zack Snyder’s Justice League, also known as the Snyder Cut, is a revitalized and reimagined version of the 2017 Justice League film. The movie features an epic DCEU crossover event, with Ben Affleck returning to his role as Batman.

Batman and Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman join forces to assemble a remarkable team of superheroes, including Henry Cavill’s Superman, Jason Momoa’s Aquaman, Ezra Miller’s Flash, and Ray Fisher’s Cyborg. Together, they unite to defend the planet against the formidable threats of Steppenwolf and Darkseid.

We have chosen to include the 2021 Snyder Cut instead of the original 2017 release on our list. However, its ranking would remain unchanged regardless.

The Batman (2022)

• Genre: Action and Adventure
• Language: English
• Runtime: 2h 56min
• IMDb: 7.8/10

The Batman explores the story of Wayne’s dark past as he works hard to unravel the connection between him and Gotham City’s series of crimes, including the assassination of their mayor. With the city needing his help more than help, Batman has no choice but to confront his past to untangle the web of corruption and brutality that hides deeply beneath Gotham City’s surface.

The shocking revelations of his family’s connection to the horrors of crime scenes around him make him dig deeper to find the nucleus that controls it all and put an end to it. But, of course, Batman is nothing you expect it to be, so take advantage of the thrilling plot of a man with a cape and mask who puts his city above everything else.

Spoiler-free version: All Batman Movies in viewing order

For those who wish to avoid spoilers, you will discover below concise descriptions that are free of any plot reveals from the information provided above.

All Batman live-action movies

The Adam West Movie

• Batman: The Movie (1966)

The Batman Motion Picture Anthology

• Batman (1989)
• Batman Returns (1992)
• Batman Forever (1995)
• Batman & Robin (1997)

Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy

• Batman Begins (2005)
• The Dark Knight (2008)
• The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

Extended DC Cinematic Universe

• Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)
• Suicide Squad (2016)
• Justice League (2017)
• Joker (2019)
• The Batman (2022 – now in cinemas

All Batman live-action series

• The Batman (1943 – theatrical series)
• Batman and Robin (1949 – theatrical series)
• Batman (1966 to 1969 – TV series)
• Gotham (2014 to 2019 – TV series)
• Titans (2018 to present – TV series)
• Pennyworth (2019 to present – TV series)
• Batwoman (2019 to present – TV series)

Animated Batman Movies and Series in Order

• Batman: The Animated Series (1992 to 1995 – animated TV series)
• Batman: Under The Red Hood (2010 – animated film)
• Batman: Year One (2011 – animated film)
• The Dark Knight Returns (2012 – animated film)
• Batman: The Killing Joke (2016 – animated film)
• Lego Batman (2017 – animated film)

All Batman Movies by the Director

Leslie H. Martinson Batman Movies in Release Order

• Batman: The Movie (1966)

Tim Burton Batman Movies in Release Order

• Batman (1989)
• Batman Returns (1992)

Joel Schumacher Batman Movies in Release Order

• Batman Forever (1995)
• Batman & Robin (1997)

Christopher Nolan Batman Movies in Release Order

• Batman Begins (2005)
• The Dark Knight (2008)
• The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

Zack Synder Batman Movies in Release Order

• Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)
• Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021)

Matt Reeves Batman Movies in Release Order

• The Batman (2022)

Theatrically Released Animated Batman Movies in Release Order

• Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993)
• The LEGO Batman Movie (2017)

Upcoming Batman Movies

• The Batman – Part II (2025)

FAQs

What Happens After The Dark Knight Rises?

In 2012, Christopher Nolan’s Batman-centric trilogy concluded with The Dark Knight Rises, marking the end of an era. Despite the franchise’s immense success, a fourth film never entered development. Batman, being one of the most beloved comic book superheroes ever, has seen numerous adaptations across various media platforms for decades.

How many Dark Knight Batman movies are there?

3 Dark Knight Batman movies are there:

• Batman Begins (2005)
• The Dark Knight (2008)
• The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

Does The Batman take place before the Dark Knight?

The majority of the story unfolds shortly after the events of Batman, where Keaton’s Dark Knight finds himself facing the formidable foes of Penguin and one of the greatest live-action villains in DC movie history, Michelle Pfeiffer’s Catwoman.

Does it matter what order you watch Batman?

In this case, there isn’t a specific “correct order” to follow since the films are disconnected and not presented chronologically. Therefore, our recommendation is to watch them in the order they were released. You have the flexibility to watch these either before or after the films, as per your preference.

Who played Batman the most?

No one has portrayed Batman more extensively on the big screen than Christian Bale. He took on the iconic role in three films directed by Christopher Nolan.

Should I watch Joker before Batman?

Before you embark on The Batman, it is essential to watch Joker, a film that delves into dark and disturbing themes, evoking a mix of sadness, terror, and unease.

Final Thoughts

To conclude, we have shared a complete list of Batman movies for you to stream easily in any region you reside in. To make the process easier for you, we recommend installing a good VPN that can help you stream all the Batman movies on HBO Max safely. For instance, we strongly vouch for ExpressVPN to help you watch all Batman movies in order.

Gary Wilson

Gary is a geeky-binge watcher who loves to pen down all that he watches. The night-owl has just got two hobbies, binge-watching all the latest shows and writing everything about them.