Saga Batman
The fictional character Batman, a comic book superhero featured in DC Comics publications and created by Bob Kane, has appeared in various films since his inception. The character first starred in two serial films in the 1940s, 'Batman' and 'Batman and Robin'. The character also appeared in the 1966 film 'Batman', which was a feature film adaptation of the 1960s 'Batman' TV series starring Adam West and Burt Ward, who also starred in the film. Toward the end of the 1980s, the Warner Bros. studio began producing a series of feature films starring Batman, beginning with the 1989 film Batman, directed by Tim Burton and starring Michael Keaton. Burton and Keaton returned for the 1992 sequel Batman Returns, and in 1995, Joel Schumacher directed 'Batman Forever' with Val Kilmer as Batman. Schumacher also directed the 1997 sequel 'Batman & Robin', which starred George Clooney. 'Batman & Robin' was poorly received by both critics and fans, leading to the cancellation of 'Batman Triumphant'. Over the course of seven years, Warner Bros. commissioned Darren Aronofsky for an adaptation of Batman: Year One and Wolfgang Petersen for 'Batman vs. Superman' before deciding to reboot the film franchise in 2005 with 'Batman Begins', directed by Christopher Nolan and starring Christian Bale. Nolan returned to direct two further installments in the trilogy, 'The Dark Knight' in 2008 and 'The Dark Knight Rises' in 2012 with Bale reprising his role in both films. The two sequels both earned over $1 billion worldwide, making Batman the second film franchise (and to date one of only five, the others being Pirates of the Caribbean, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Transformers and Jurassic Park) to have two of its films earn more than $1 billion worldwide. Ben Affleck will become the newest actor to portray Batman in 2016 with 'Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice', which will put into motion a new DC Extended Universe, including a much larger crossover Justice League Part One film in 2017 and a stand-alone film that is currently in development.
