Every Batman actor, in order
Six actors since 1989, across five continuities that mostly have nothing to do with one another, and one actor who plays the part in two of them, thirty-four years apart.
Updated 9 August 2026 · 14 titles tracked
There is no single Batman continuity, and that is the whole of the difficulty. Six actors have played the part in live-action film since 1989, and the runs they belong to were built to replace one another rather than continue one another.
So "which Batman film comes next" has no answer until you know which Batman you are watching. This page sorts them by actor, and by the continuity each actor belongs to.
Every film with a Batman in it, in release order
The continuity is on each row, and it is the column that matters here. Half of these films share nothing but the costume.
- 1Batman1989 · DC · Burton & Schumacher
- 2Batman Returns1992 · DC · Burton & Schumacher
- 3Batman Forever1995 · DC · Burton & Schumacher
- 4Batman & Robin1997 · DC · Burton & Schumacher
- 5Batman Begins2005 · DC · The Dark Knight Trilogy
- 6The Dark Knight2008 · DC · The Dark Knight Trilogy
- 7The Dark Knight Rises2012 · DC · The Dark Knight Trilogy
- 8Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice2016 · DC · The DCEU
- 9Justice League2017 · DC · The DCEU
- 10Zack Snyder’s Justice League2021 · DC · The DCEU
- 11The Batman2022 · DC · The Batman Saga
- 12The Flash2023 · DC · The DCEU
- 13The Batman Part II2027 · DC · The Batman Saga
- 14The Brave and the Bold2029 · DC · The DCU
The six, and where each one belongs
In release order, with the run each belongs to.
- Michael Keaton: Batman (1989) and Batman Returns (1992), both directed by Tim Burton. Then again in The Flash (2023).
- Val Kilmer: Batman Forever (1995). Nominally the same continuity as Keaton, under a new director and a hard turn in tone.
- George Clooney: Batman & Robin (1997), which ends that continuity fairly conclusively.
- Christian Bale: Batman Begins (2005), The Dark Knight (2008) and The Dark Knight Rises (2012). A closed trilogy, connected to nothing else.
- Ben Affleck: Batman v Superman (2016), Justice League (2017) and its 2021 recut, plus a brief appearance in Suicide Squad (2016) and a return in The Flash.
- Robert Pattinson: The Batman (2022), with The Batman Part II to come. Its own continuity again, connected to none of the others.
The part that catches people out
Batman Begins is not a sequel to Batman & Robin. It is a reboot that ignores it entirely, which is why the two barely read as the same genre.
The same is true again of The Batman. Pattinson is not following Affleck; he is starting over in a continuity of his own, which ran in parallel while the DCEU was still going. Two Batmen existed on screen at the same time, deliberately.
Why Michael Keaton is on this list twice
The Flash is a multiverse film, so it can do the one thing this list otherwise cannot: put two continuities into the same story. Keaton returns as the Batman from the 1989 film, alongside Affleck’s.
It is the only place any of these runs formally touch, and it is thirty-four years after the first one. If you want the Burton films to be canonical to something, that is the film that does it.
What this page does not cover
Adam West, who played Batman in the 1966 film and the series it grew out of. That is a separate tradition rather than an earlier entry in this one, and it is not on this site.
Kevin Conroy, who voiced Batman across three decades of animation and is, for a great many people, the definitive one. Animated continuities are their own question, and this site does not cover them yet.
Common questions
How many actors have played Batman?
Six in live-action film since 1989: Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, George Clooney, Christian Bale, Ben Affleck and Robert Pattinson. Adam West played the part in the 1966 film, which belongs to a separate tradition, and Kevin Conroy voiced the character across decades of animation.
What order should I watch the Batman movies in?
By continuity rather than by date. Pick a run (Burton and Schumacher, the Nolan trilogy, the DCEU, or The Batman) and watch that run in order. Watching all of them by release date means switching continuity four times.
Is The Batman connected to the other Batman movies?
No. Robert Pattinson’s films are their own continuity, connected neither to Christian Bale’s trilogy nor to Ben Affleck’s DCEU. It began while the DCEU was still running.
Are the Christopher Nolan Batman films part of the DCEU?
No. The Dark Knight trilogy is self-contained and finished in 2012, four years before Batman v Superman. Christian Bale’s Batman never appears in the DCEU.
Why does Michael Keaton return in The Flash?
The Flash is a multiverse story, which lets it reach into the 1989 continuity. Keaton plays the same Batman, thirty-four years later, alongside Ben Affleck’s version.