Batman, a superhero created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger for comic books published by DC Comics, has appeared in nearly every form of media, including film since the 1940s. Columbia Pictures supervised the first film adaptations with Batman (1943) and Batman and Robin (1949), which deviated significantly from the source material. 20th Century Fox then released Batman (1966) as the theatrical spinoff to the American Broadcasting Company's (ABC) live-action TV program, also titled Batman (1966–1968), starring Adam West. After several years in limbo, Warner Bros. Pictures purchased the copyrights and developed a succession of Batman films in the late twentieth century, two directed by Tim Burton and another pair by Joel Schumacher. Michael Keaton portrays Batman in the Burton films, while Val Kilmer and George Clooney feature in said role in the Schumacher films.
Warner Bros. spent the turn of the millennium again in protracted development over a reboot, leading to the production of a trilogy of films starring Christian Bale: Batman Begins (2005), The Dark Knight (2008), and The Dark Knight Rises (2012). Another reboot followed with the creation of the DC Extended Universe (DCEU), in which Ben Affleck features as Batman beginning with Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016). The Batman (2022) and The Brave and the Bold will revamp the established continuity of the live-action films with incarnations of Batman played by Robert Pattinson and another actor. Joker (2019) features a depiction of the character as a civilian, predating his transformation into a vigilante. Numerous actors voice Batman in animated film.
The Batman films are generally successful and comprise the tenth highest grossing film franchise of all time, grossing over $6.76 billion globally. Critical opinion of films vary substantially. Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic report a spectrum of aggregated scores between the best-received film, The Dark Knight, and the worst, Batman & Robin (1997). Occasionally, Batman films attract Academy Award recognition for acting and technical achievement.
Initial adaptations Early films
Batman is the superhero persona of industrialist Bruce Wayne, a character created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger for comic books published by DC Comics in 1939. On the strength of the earliest comics, three major Hollywood studios approached DC to purchase the film rights in the early 1940s. Columbia Pictures bought the rights shortly afterward, and, in 1943, released a fifteen-chapter serial film directed by Lambert Hillyer and starring Lewis Wilson as Batman. The story follows Batman and Robin's attempts to sabotage a Japanese spy's plot to aid Axis conquest of the United States by producing a super weapon. Elements of Batman deviate from the source material in significant respects, most notably the addition of a Japanese villain, underscoring the film's propaganda function. Conceived eighteen months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, Batman reflected a wider cultural shift to arouse mass support for US intervention in World War II. Nevertheless, the serial introduced the Batcave and the Wayne Manor's secret grandfather clock entrance in Batman mythology. It was re-released in theaters in 1965 under the title An Evening with Batman and Robin.
In 1949, Columbia developed another fifteen-part serial, Batman and Robin, as the sequel to Batman, compelled by the success of Superman the previous year. Robert Lowery was Wilson's replacement as Batman, leading a new ensemble of actors opposite Johnny Duncan as Robin. Batman and Robin details the duo's retrieval of a stolen remote control machine from criminal mastermind Wizard, whose schemes threaten to disrupt Gotham City's transportation networks. Producer Sam Katzman sought to keep the cost of filming low, and the diminished budget led to further changes to the onscreen world. As a consequence, Batman and Robin fared poorly in reviews from the press.
The American Broadcasting Company's (ABC) creation of Batman, a live-action TV adaptation running in the mid-1960s, resurrected the character's popularity. 20th Century Fox released a theatrical film, also titled Batman, intended to be a precursor to the show in 1966. Featuring Adam West as the superhero, author Matthew J. Smith viewed the projects as campy, yet more faithful interpretations of the comics than the serials. West stated he was hesitant to consider the part because he feared being typecast, but was convinced by his agent. In the film, Batman and Robin (Burt Ward) confront the main antagonists of the series: the Joker (Cesar Romero), the Penguin (Burgess Meredith), the Riddler (Frank Gorshin), and Catwoman (Lee Meriwether).
Limbo
ABC's cancellation of Batman decreased Hollywood interest in further film adaptations. A concerted effort to produce another film did not begin until a year after the release of Superman (1978). Producers Michael Uslan and Benjamin Melniker purchased the rights with the aim of conceiving a more faithful adaptation of the comics. Superman was another catalyst for Uslan and Melniker's vision of a Batman film. Uslan pitched to multiple studios unsuccessfully, including Columbia and United Artists, prompting him to devise an outline, Return of the Batman, to better articulate his idea.
By November 1979, Uslan and Melniker obtained funding through a joint venture with Peter Guber, chairman of the film division of Casablanca Records. Under the arrangement, the producers were entitled to 40 percent of profits yielded by Casablanca. They commissioned a Batman film with a $15 million budget in 1981, but a series of corporate acquisitions prolonged negotiations over the film's distribution, stalling development. Casablanca's preexisting distribution agreement with Universal Pictures dissolved after the company was acquired by PolyGram Pictures. By this point, PolyGram faced bankruptcy after investing $80 million to increase their rate of output, and Guber brokered an agreement to transfer ownership of the Batman film rights to him and associate Jon Peters. Another associate pitched the project to Warner Bros. Pictures executive Frank Wells, and Peters then signed a deal with studio president Terry Semel which overlapped with the Casablanca contract. Since Uslan and Melniker were unaware of the dealings, they sued Warner Bros. in 1992 claiming a breach of contract on grounds of coercion and fraud.
Screenwriter Tom Mankiewicz completed the project's first draft in June 1983, titled The Batman. The draft focused on an origin story chronicling Wayne's transformation into Batman. Moreover, Mankiewicz developed the story to indicate a sequel following Batman and Dick Grayson as a crimefighting duo. Mankiewicz took inspiration from Batman: Strange Apparitions, a multi-issue limited series by Steve Englehart and Marshall Rogers. Though The Batman was announced with a mid-1985 release date, revisions to the script impeded progress on the film. In total, the script underwent ten rewrites from ten screenwriters at the behest of several different directors.
Original film series
Batman (1989)
Warner Bros. appointed Tim Burton as Batman director in 1988. The studio approached Burton as early as 1985, but had no formalized deal until a week after Beetlejuice opened in theaters. Burton discarded Mankiewicz's screenplay as he found the tone too similar to Superman. Englehart and Julie Hickson prepared film treatments which Sam Hamm reworked into the script. Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns (1986) guided Hamm's script, reflecting a darker approach than previous interpretations to that point. When the 1988 Writers Guild of America strike forced Hamm to resign, Warner Bros. engaged Warren Skaaren, Charles McKeown and Jonathan Gems for additional rewrites to lighten the tone.
Burton chose Michael Keaton among a number of leading men as Wayne, despite resistance from studio executives. Keaton was a controversial casting choice; he had been mainly known as a comedic actor and was not perceived to fit the Batman archetype. Jack Nicholson stars opposite Keaton as the Joker, earning as much as $50–$90 million for his work. Principal photography occurred from October 1988 to January 1989 on constructed sets at the backlot of Pinewood Studios in London. After its June 1989 release, Batman received mostly positive reviews and finished the theatrical run as the year's second highest-grossing film, with a box office take of $400 million. At the 62nd Academy Awards, the film won Best Art Direction.
Batman Returns (1992)
Studio executives prioritized a sequel to Batman beginning in late-1989. Warner Bros. secured Burton's commitment as director for Batman Returns in 1991. Burton was reluctant to return for another film because he was cynical about sequels. He had also been frustrated with the authority Guber and Peters exerted over the original film, agreeing to Batman Returns only on the condition of greater independence. Daniel Waters replaced Hamm as screenwriter based on Burton's preference for a writer that had no involvement with Batman. Waters developed the script with greater emphasis on the villains—including Catwoman (Michelle Pfeiffer) and the Penguin (Danny DeVito). Burton brought on Wesley Strick for an uncredited rewrite before assigning Waters further script editing duties. Keaton reprised his role for a $10 million salary. Filmmakers shot Batman Returns from September 1991 to February 1992, and the film was released in theaters that June. Batman Returns polarized critics and saw diminished returns at the box office.
Batman Forever (1995)
To improve their profit-making potential, Warner Bros. developed Batman Forever with a more family-friendly tone. The studio did not want to continue the series with Burton and encouraged the filmmaker to seek other projects, though Burton remained involved as an executive producer. They hired Joel Schumacher as Burton's replacement, believing he could better realize a film conducive to advertising toys. The screenplay was conceived by Lee and Janet Scott-Batchler, a husband-and-wife writing team, and Akiva Goldsman. Keaton at first supported the changes but in time dropped out, objecting to the script.
Ethan Hawke, Daniel Day-Lewis, Ralph Fiennes, and Kurt Russell were among those considered to play Batman, which eventually went to Val Kilmer. Kilmer came to Schumacher's attention for his work in the Western film Tombstone (1993). Shooting took place from September 1994 to March 1995, followed by the theatrical rollout in June 1995. Batman Forever finished the year as the sixth highest-grossing film by amassing $350 million globally, but drew a tepid critical response. Nonetheless, the film received three nominations at the 68th Academy Awards.
Batman & Robin (1997)
Schumacher was signed as director of Batman & Robin while Batman Forever ran in theaters. Goldman and Chris O'Donnell returned, the former as the film's sole screenwriter. Kilmer did not reappear, and reports give conflicting accounts about the circumstance of the actor's departure. Schumacher maintained in a 1996 interview that producers "sort of fired" Kilmer because he was volatile on the set of Batman Forever. On the other hand, Kilmer cited scheduling conflicts that arose as a result of prior commitments to Heat (1995) and The Saint (1997). In his documentary film Val (2021), the actor clarified further that the experience working in the Batsuit, which he found cumbersome, influenced his decision to leave.