With Robert Pattinson the newest Caped Crusader, thanks to
The Batman
from director Matt Reeves, the time has come to once again light up the
Bat-Signal, call all the Dark Knights to action, and figure out who the
best movie Batman truly is.Whether they appeared only once as
the Caped Crusader or starred in a full-fledged trilogy, these stars all
hold the honor of donning the cape and cowl of Gotham's one true
protector. From animated releases to colorful tongue-in-cheek romps to
grounded and gritty takes on the vengeful vigilante, the following
actors breathed life, for better or worse, into Bruce Wayne and his
cranky costumed alter ego. (And a note: We're not including the Batmen
from the old movie serials here because movie serials aren't really
movies.)
Check out our movie Batman rankings below, and also take our poll at the bottom of the page to pick a favorite!
Note: This story has been updated to reflect the news that Robert Pattinson is now starring in The Batman.
Actors Who Almost Played Batman
8. George Clooney
Fans were excited when George Clooney was announced as Val Kilmer's
replacement for Joel Schumacher's follow up to Batman Forever. Clooney
was super hot from NBC's ER and had proven himself to be a capable
action hero in From Dusk Till Dawn. Little did we know that Batman &
Robin would wind up being the worst Batman installment of the '80/'90s
run (and of any decade, really) and that Clooney himself would actually
be bad as Batman in it. It's one thing to be the best part of
an awful movie, but Clooney was no saving grace. Years later, he'll
still readily apologize for "ruining Batman" - though he wasn't solely
responsible. A lot of effort went into making Batman & Robin a
cartoonish, nippled mess.
7. Val Kilmer
Strong-jawed
Val Kilmer was director Joel Schumacher's first Batman, for a mixed bag
of a film, Batman Forever, that was a half dark and half over-the-top
stab at making the franchise more kid-friendly. With Kilmer's stint came
the (modern) franchise's first attempt at making Batman be more than
just a side character/afterthought in his own movie. Unfortunately that
meant that Kilmer's Bruce Wayne had to, essentially, forget why he was
Batman. Yes, Batman's arc in the movie involved him being plagued by a
dream that he'd eventually come to recognize as the buried memory of the
night he decided to become a vigilante who dressed up like a bat.
6. Will Arnett
♪"Darkness! No Parents!"
As
a breakout character from The LEGO Movie, Will Arnett's hilarious
tragedy-obsessed action hero-bro eventually got his own spinoff movie.
Cleverly expanding on some of the character's most famous themes, the
film tackled both Bruce Wayne's deep-rooted desire to push away friends
and family for their own protection and Batman's almost symbiotic
relationship with arch-nemesis The Joker. Arnett's comedic delivery and a
funny script combined to create a memorable character-focused animated
adventure.
5. Ben Affleck
The
already-mega famous Ben Affleck came into the costume as part of DC and
Warner Bros.' attempt to jump-start a huge cinematic universe with the
second movie of a franchise. After the Tim Burton films and Christopher
Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy, the feeling was that you could now easily
skip over Batman's origins (though we did get that flashback to Crime
Alley) and just have him exist as an already established character with
little build-up. And for the most part that worked, mostly thanks to
Affleck's brooding, sarcastic take on Bruce and Batman's understandable
resentment of Superman.
4. Michael Keaton
When
established comedic actor Michael Keaton was cast as Batman for Tim
Burton's seminally dark, gothic cinematic take on the character, fans
were in an uproar. Well, as big of an uproar as there could be back
before the internet. Later on though, after two films, fans could hardly
imagine anyone else playing the character when the news came that
Keaton was leaving the franchise. That says a lot for the actor on this
list who probably did the most with the least. Keaton was able to create
a vital and memorable Batman despite sometimes feeling like a
supporting character in movies that shined huge spotlights on the
villains and their respective origin stories.
3. Adam West
Adam
West was best known for playing Batman on TV, sure, but the 1966 Batman
movie that sprang from the series, featuring West's Batman and Burt
Ward's Robin (and some Bat-Shark Repellent spray) squaring off against
all their major adversaries - Catwoman, Riddler, Joker, and Penguin - is
an essential camp classic. For an entire generation, West, and the
good-hearted, campy nature of the '60s show, was the quintessential take
on Batman. This was the tone and style that Joel Schumacher tried, and
failed, to evoke with his two films (particularly with Batman &
Robin). Only the beloved West and his delightfully dry delivery could
pull this off.
2. Christian Bale
The
most complete Batman movie journey (even though you may have issues
with the way the story ended or with Batman's "SWEAR TO ME! voice) can
be found within Christopher Nolan's compelling and grounded Dark Knight
trilogy, featuring Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne/Batman. In almost a
direct response to the previous franchise's inability to properly focus
on Batman himself, the Nolan films took a deep dive into Bruce's origins
and motivations, even spending an entire movie on his transformation
into the Caped Crusader. Bale himself may arguably have been a better
Bruce Wayne than a Batman, but his tormented take on the character's
self-loathing and guilt, along with a strong desire to actually stop
being a hero once he felt like Gotham was in good hands, made for an
iconic performance.
1. Kevin Conroy
Kevin
Conroy, through just his groovy and gravely voice acting alone, worked
to create one of the most iconic and long-standing representations of
Batman to date. Batman: The Animated Series ran for over 80 episodes in
the mid-90s and stands, for many, as a near-perfect representation of
the Dark Knight and his foes. The series gave us two movies, one of
which, Mask of the Phantasm, got a theatrical release, and led to Conroy
voicing the character on other shows within the DC animated universe -
up through, even, 2010's Batman: The Brave and the Bold (in a guest
capacity). Conroy also voiced Batman in three of the four Arkham games,
once again proving the fact that for most fans he was, and still is, the
definitive voice of the character.
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