Batman Cast: Every Actor and Director in the Theatrical Films

Nine actors have played Batman in the theatrical films, counting the voice work of Kevin Conroy and Will Arnett and the three appearance films led by Ben Affleck. Release order answers who played all the Batmans in order, starting with Adam West in 1966 and ending with Robert Pattinson in 2022.

The supporting roles change hands more often than the cowl. For the same list with the character histories attached, see batman characters and batman actors in order.

Batman (1966), directed by Leslie H. Martinson, built its ensemble around Adam West and Burt Ward as Batman and Robin. The four villains of the United Underworld were Cesar Romero as the Joker, Burgess Meredith as the Penguin, Frank Gorshin as the Riddler and Lee Meriwether as Catwoman, credited as Kitka. Alan Napier played Alfred, Neil Hamilton played Commissioner Gordon, Stafford Repp played Chief O'Hara and Madge Blake played Aunt Harriet Cooper. Meriwether took over the Catwoman role from Julie Newmar for the film. The full credits are on the batman 1966 movie page.

Tim Burton directed the next two films, and Batman (1989) cast Michael Keaton as Batman and Jack Nicholson as the Joker, credited as Joker / Jack Napier. Kim Basinger played the photographer Vicki Vale, Robert Wuhl played the reporter Alexander Knox, Billy Dee Williams played Harvey Dent, Jack Palance played the mob boss Grissom and Pat Hingle and Michael Gough played Gordon and Alfred. Batman Returns (1992) kept Keaton, Hingle and Gough and added Danny DeVito as the Penguin, Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman and Selina, and Christopher Walken as the businessman Max Shreck. Annette Bening left the Catwoman role because of pregnancy and Pfeiffer replaced her, according to Fox News.

Joel Schumacher took over for the next two, and Batman Forever (1995) brought in Val Kilmer as Batman, Tommy Lee Jones as Two-Face, Jim Carrey as the Riddler, Nicole Kidman as Dr. Chase Meridian and Chris O'Donnell as Robin. Drew Barrymore and Debi Mazar played Sugar and Spice. Batman & Robin (1997) moved to George Clooney, with O'Donnell returning and Arnold Schwarzenegger as Mr. Freeze, Uma Thurman as Poison Ivy and Alicia Silverstone as Batgirl. John Glover played Dr. Jason Woodrue and Jeep Swenson played Bane.

Christopher Nolan's trilogy gave Christian Bale the lead in all three films, with Michael Caine as Alfred, Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox and Gary Oldman as Gordon throughout. Batman Begins added Liam Neeson as Ducard, Ken Watanabe as Ra's al Ghul, Katie Holmes as Rachel Dawes, Cillian Murphy as Dr. Jonathan Crane and Tom Wilkinson as Carmine Falcone. The Dark Knight added Heath Ledger as the Joker and Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent, with Maggie Gyllenhaal as Rachel and Murphy returning as Scarecrow. The Dark Knight Rises added Tom Hardy as Bane, Anne Hathaway as Selina, Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Blake, Marion Cotillard as Miranda and Ben Mendelsohn as Daggett.

Matt Reeves cast Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne for The Batman (2022). Zoë Kravitz played Selina Kyle, Jeffrey Wright played Lt. James Gordon, Colin Farrell played Oz, the Penguin, and Paul Dano played the Riddler. John Turturro played Carmine Falcone, Andy Serkis played Alfred, Peter Sarsgaard played District Attorney Gil Colson and Jayme Lawson played Bella Reál. Barry Keoghan is credited as an Unseen Arkham Prisoner.

The two animated spin-offs have their own voice casts. Batman: Mask of the Phantasm starred Kevin Conroy, with Dana Delany as Andrea Beaumont, Stacy Keach as the Phantasm and Carl Beaumont, Mark Hamill as the Joker, Efrem Zimbalist Jr. as Alfred and Bob Hastings as Gordon. The Lego Batman Movie starred Will Arnett, with Michael Cera as Robin, Rosario Dawson as Batgirl, Ralph Fiennes as Alfred, Zach Galifianakis as the Joker and Jenny Slate as Harley Quinn. Zoë Kravitz voiced Catwoman, and Billy Dee Williams voiced Two-Face.

The four appearance films are listed in the batman movies in order guide. Ben Affleck plays Bruce Wayne in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Justice League and Zack Snyder's Justice League, with Jeremy Irons as Alfred, and J.K. Simmons as Gordon in both versions of Justice League. The Flash credits Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne and Batman.

Eight directors have made the eleven Batman films, and Tim Burton, Joel Schumacher and Christopher Nolan account for seven of those films between them. Composers define each era as much as directors do, and the scores are covered in the batman soundtrack guide.

Burton directed two films, Batman (1989) and Batman Returns (1992), and Danny Elfman scored both. Schumacher directed Batman Forever (1995) and Batman & Robin (1997) with Elliot Goldenthal as composer, and Variety's coverage of his death notes that Burton stayed on Forever as a producer. Nolan directed all three Bale films with Hans Zimmer scoring each of them, which is why that trilogy sounds like one piece of work.

The animated films have their own crews. Bruce Timm and Eric Radomski directed Mask of the Phantasm, produced by Michael Uslan among others and scored by Shirley Walker, and TheWrap describes it as the first animated Batman film to get a theatrical release. Chris McKay directed The Lego Batman Movie, with Animal Logic producing the animation and Lorne Balfe composing.

The appearance films have different directors again. Zack Snyder directed Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Justice League and Zack Snyder's Justice League, with Hans Zimmer, Danny Elfman and Tom Holkenborg credited as composers on those three respectively. Andy Muschietti directed The Flash, scored by Benjamin Wallfisch.

Matt Reeves is the director now reported to be making a second Batman film. TheWrap reports that he is directing and writing The Batman Part II, with Mattson Tomlin also credited as a writer. Filming was reported under way in London on June 12, 2026, and DC Studios paused production on October 5, 2026 while Reeves handled a family matter, according to The A.V. Club. Variety Australia quotes the studio as calling the pause temporary, and TheWrap lists a US release of February 18, 2028. The current status is on the the batman part 2 page.

Michael Gough and Pat Hingle are the longest serving returning cast members in the series, each appearing in all four films from Batman (1989) to Batman & Robin (1997), Gough as Alfred and Hingle as Commissioner Gordon. Nolan's trilogy repeated the pattern, with Christian Bale, Michael Caine as Alfred, Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox and Gary Oldman as Gordon in all three films. Cillian Murphy carried Dr. Jonathan Crane from Batman Begins into The Dark Knight, where he is credited as Scarecrow, and Chris O'Donnell played Robin in both Schumacher films.

The long gaps are the more interesting returns. Billy Dee Williams played Harvey Dent in Batman (1989) and came back as the voice of Two-Face in The Lego Batman Movie 28 years later. Michael Keaton returned as Bruce Wayne and Batman in The Flash (2023), 31 years after Batman Returns (1992). Zoë Kravitz voiced Catwoman in 2017 and then played Selina Kyle in The Batman (2022). On the recasting side, Lee Meriwether replaced Julie Newmar for the 1966 film, and Michelle Pfeiffer replaced Annette Bening in Batman Returns (1992), according to Fox News.

In my opinion, the Joker is the role where recasting works best, because five actors have played him across five films and each film asks for something different: Cesar Romero's prankster, Jack Nicholson's gangster, Mark Hamill's animated voice, Heath Ledger's agent of chaos and Zach Galifianakis's wounded rival. Five actors have played Alfred in live action (Alan Napier, Michael Gough, Michael Caine, Jeremy Irons and Andy Serkis), which makes four recasts, and perhaps no other role bends to the tone of each film quite as much. It could be argued that Christian Bale has the strongest claim to the best Batman, since The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises each passed $1 billion worldwide according to Box Office Mojo, though that measures the films as much as the actor. The full argument sits in batman movies ranked.

The Batman Part II is the next recast test. TheWrap reported on June 12, 2026 that Robert Pattinson, Colin Farrell and Andy Serkis are returning as Batman, the Penguin and Alfred Pennyworth. TheWrap also reported Sebastian Stan as Harvey Dent and Scarlett Johansson as Gilda Dent on May 7, 2026. The A.V. Club reported on May 14, 2026 that Reeves announced Stan, Johansson, Brian Tyree Henry and Sebastian Koch on X, and TheWrap lists Charles Dance. None of those reports names a character for Henry, Koch or Dance, so those roles remain unannounced. If you are tracking the new Batman cast, the the batman part 2 page carries the status and release dates, and the how many batman movies guide shows where the sequel will sit.