Batman‘s movie roster is one of the most expansive and beloved in the history of the superhero genre, with plenty of unusual or downright surreal things being true about this iconic filmography. With now more than 80 years of DC history, Batman’s appearances in superhero comics, movies, shows and everything in-between have decades of praise, cementing the hero’s legacy.

However, the scale of Batman’s reputation also means there’s more to note when it comes to things like how Batman movies approach the Caped Crusader’s world and overarching lore. As such, it’s perhaps no surprise some details about Batman’s on-screen history are surprising or even bizarre to consider when looking at this extensive film selection.

So Many Of Batman’s Best Villains Have Never Had A Live-Action Movie Debut

Batman’s movies have adapted a range of iconic and important enemies of the Dark Knight into the live-action side of its world, with figures like the Joker, Bane, Scarecrow, and the Riddler all making their own significant appearances in the Caped Crusader’s filmography.

That said, there’s a staggering range of villains who haven’t gotten their own time to shine here. While some of this can be explained by most Batman movies to date being more grounded overall, even this concept wouldn’t preclude figures like Hugo Strange, Professor Pyg, the Mad Hatter or Hush from getting their moment in the metaphorical sun.

On the less grounded side of things, Solomon Grundy’s essentially unᴅᴇᴀᴅ nature would be awe-inspiring and terrifying in live-action, and the Batman Who Laughs, while a newer addition, would be a perfect antagonist for an all-out Batman story that pits the Dark Knight against one of his most potent possible challenges.

All in all, these villains present opportunities for films that it seems could well and truly blow audiences away – and provide the kind of spectacle people evidently desire from superhero films, alongside the novelty of an antagonist they are less aware of. For now, though, the animated side of Batman’s movie world holds a considerably wider selection of antagonists.

Batman’s Best Movie Castings Saw Harsh Criticisms Before Audiences Saw Them In Action

Given the general high quality of Batman movie castings, it’s easy to forget the initial reception to certain casting choices after a release comes out and is generally celebrated by those who’ve seen it. However, prior to more than one release, audiences have criticized some of what were later proved to be the best Batman castings in the hero’s history.

Of course, the most famous recent example of this is that of Robert Pattinson’s casting as The Batman‘s Dark Knight. While Pattinson’s history prior to The Batman established a range that suggested he very much could handle the role, the actor’s ᴀssociation with the likes of Twilight led to concerns he wouldn’t be able to nail the role of Batman.

Pattinson would go on to be one of the most praised Batman castings of all time, though it’s worth noting he was following in the footsteps of those who came before him here. Interestingly, even Christian Bale’s Batman casting was initially subject to some skepticism, due to general cynicism about the gritty approach Batman Begins promised to take.

Outside of the realm of Batman, Heath Ledger similarly faced some doubters when it was revealed he was cast as the Joker, due to his own past with romantic comedies and other movies that meant some questioned whether he had the experience to pull off the role – with the actor also proving these concerns ill-founded upon The Dark Knight‘s release.

We’ve Only Had One “Proper” Robin Movie In Live-Action

In the comics, the role of Robin is absolutely crucial to Batman’s life and history – especially because the roster of characters who’ve held the Robin mantle over the years have essentially provided Batman with both a family of adoptive children, and some allies who’ve now grown into their own.

Despite Robin being so integral to so many Batman stories, the role has largely been absent from the live-action movie world. Part of this does appear to be that the one movie in question that leaned into the idea of Robin most was Batman & Robin, which is infamously one of the most derided Batman movies of all time.

The Dark Knight Rises did also veer into the territory of suggesting Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s character was Robin, though the trilogy never delved too far into the concept. While the DCU seems set to bring Robin back in a major way, it’s surprising that such a major Batman character has been absent for so long.

Batman’s Main Allies Have Barely Appeared In The Majority Of His Movies

To further the point about Robin being absent from so many Batman movies, it’s also worth noting that the knock-on impact of this is even wilder. Doing away with the role of Robin – and featuring no sign of Batman’s sidekicks – means a huge range of characters are effectively locked out of existing to some degree in these movie worlds.

To date, we’ve had four Robins – or five, if you count Stephanie Brown, depending on the comic canon being followed – and their stories are inherently intertwined with the sidekick role. Each Robin has also gone on to have their own crucial hero or antihero roles afterward, with Nightwing, Jason Todd’s Red Hood, and Red Robin all starting out as Robin.

Naturally, not having Robin also makes it harder for characters like Batgirl or Signal to appear, meaning even bigger chunks of Batman’s ally roster are also unseen in adaptations that choose to avoid Robin altogether. This is a shame, as these figures make Batman’s world and life far more interesting, detailed, and rich in general, making their absence particularly notable.

Only One Of Batman’s Movies Made More Than His Arch-Enemy’s Did

Batman’s movie roster is, largely speaking, both financially lucrative and well-respected. However, not all of Batman’s film history has reached great heights in terms of its box office – a fact that makes it so, ironically, the majority of the hero’s movies actually grossed less than the 2019 movie that centered on his biggest adversary.

2019’s Joker managed to net itself a worldwide box office of $1.078 billion – an astronomical success given its reported budget was around $55 million. Comparatively, the only Batman movie to have made more is that of 2012’s The Dark Knight Rises, and that was still a close deal, with The Dark Knight Rises making $1.082 billion itself.

While this is understandable in the sense that Joker was a huge hit – and benefits from inflation here, since it released years after the vast majority of Batman movies – it’s surreal to note that the villain’s solo film did better than almost every Batman movie, despite it ostensibly being a spinoff of these films.

Plenty Of Batman’s Biggest Comics Have Yet To Be Adapted

It’s easy to see why Batman movies tend to use the comic stories as inspiration versus completely adapting one run or plotline. Ideally, people want to see unique stories on-screen, and the differing formats mean that alterations do need to be made to many comic stories anyhow in order to work in film form in the first place.

However, plenty of Batman comics have been adapted wholesale, if only because they’re simply too famous to have not been on some levels. The Killing Joke is perhaps the most obvious example of this, but the adaptations of The Long Halloween also fall into this category – and are doubly interesting given many other Batman movies clearly draw from its story.

With all this said, it’s fascinating that plenty of major Batman comic stories still have yet to get this kind of adaptation. Part of this may draw from complications with adapting certain stories to film format – such as more abstract comics – but a big element of this appears to simply be that this isn’t a current focus.

There’s certainly positives to focusing on making fresh film stories for Batman over rehashing stories that have already been told, but – given the catalog of stunning comic narratives Batman has to his name – it’s somewhat staggering to note how many stellar comic tales haven’t been given this treatment over the years.

Batman’s Animated Movies Are Seriously Undersold

Over the years, there have been a lot of hopes regarding live-action movies that haven’t – at least for the time being – come to fruition. Be it in terms of characters, stories, or simply the overall approach to the Caped Crusader and his world, plenty of dreams are currently still off on the horizon for those who feverishly wish for them.

Interestingly, though, many of these hopes have come to fruition in another way – via the world of animated Batman movies. However, this hemisphere is often far less focused on, and far less well-known than its live-action counterpart, meaning many never learn the kind of Batman story they’ve been hoping for after all this time already exists.

While it makes sense live-action Batman movies tend to be more promoted and more well-known – given that the superhero genre tends to focus on live-action releases broadly speaking – the history of Batman’s animated stories being overlooked doesn’t make sense given both how solid many are, and how they capitalize on ideas and approaches unseen in the live-action world.

Not every animated Batman movie is universally appealing, of course, but plenty prove the concept that Batman: The Animated Series most iconically put forward: that animated stories can work in ways live-action releases don’t, and provide an often underappreciated way to depict a wider world effectively.

Batman’s Movies Have Way Less Villain Team-Ups Than The Comics

Batman’s rogues gallery can be found working together against the Caped Crusader in the comics as often as they can be found at each other’s throats – which is to say there are plenty of stories showing both scenarios. However, even movies that feature multiple Batman villains often avoid actively having them work together, despite this being a comic staple.

Part of this does appear to be that the history of Batman movie villain team-ups had the concept be adapted most directly with both Batman Forever and Batman & Robin – two films that have a more divisive reputation in the hero’s movie filmography – but this overarching scenario also appears to be down to more than that.

It’s common for superhero movies to center on one or two antagonists, both so they can be fully fleshed out, and often so there are reserves for future installments. Batman’s movie history is extensive, but each series tends to only have a few films in it, partially explaining why only Batman Forever and Batman & Robin fully explore this territory.

With the DC Universe being DC’s next and seemingly biggest chance to provide an expansive depiction of Batman’s lore, it seems very possible that the hero’s film future may soon undo this idea – particularly if The Batman 2 also uses a villain team-up story. However, until then, this core comic concept has seen far less use than might be expected.

The Lego Batman Movie Is The Second-Highest Rated Major Batman Movie Of All Time

In a landscape of largely darker and more grounded stories, The Lego Batman Movie is a decidedly more jovial and playful take on the Dark Knight and his mission. As a movie that’s subsequently generally taken less seriously as a result, it may be surprising to note that The Lego Batman Movie still has a decidedly solid critical reception.

On Rotten Tomatoes, The Lego Batman Movie actually holds the second spot in Batman’s major movie roster, with its 89% Tomatometer score being beaten by The Dark Knight‘s 94% results. This means that the Lego movie holds a higher critical review score in this regard than every other live-action film, including 2022’s The Batman, and the original 1989 Batman.

While this does make sense on some levels – as audience expectations would understandably be different for these releases – it’s fascinating to see given that both animated and more comedy-leaning films are often less respected critically. It also underlines why The Lego Batman Movie is well worth watching, even for those who might consider it outside of their usual viewing territory.

Most Batman Movies Haven’t Broken $1 Billion

The modern era for superhero movies has seen a healthy number of film results that have garnered over the $1 billion mark – with over 15 movies having broken this record between DC and Marvel’s rosters, and with Avengers: Endgame having managed to gross almost $3 billion in one of the most staggering box office feats in movie history.

Since Batman is one of DC’s most popular characters – and since there have been so many Batman movies that audiences have resonated with and still praise to this day – it does seem logical to ᴀssume a healthy dose of the Caped Crusader’s film roster have pᴀssed this benchmark. However, only two have – and they were in the same movie series.

The Dark Knight Rises and The Dark Knight are the only two Batman movies to date to have made over $1 billion in their worldwide box office – though this number could be extended to three if Joker were to be considered a Batman movie. Either way, this means the vast majority of films starring the beloved hero have made less.

Though this doesn’t reflect an outright failure for Batman‘s movies that didn’t break this mark, this is surreal to consider, particularly when compared with a hero of similar popularity like Spider-Man, who has few live-action movies that haven’t broken the $1 billion mark – and because Batman’s movie catalog is so rightfully praised for its quality.