Changes

Tim Burton was replaced with Joel Schumacher for the third Batman movie in the canon, ''Batman Forever'' (1995), which introduced Robin (Batman's iconic sidekick), and the villains the Riddler and Two-Face.  Whereas Burton had tried for a more dark and Gothic look, Schumacher went with bright neon colors and brought back some of the camp of the 1960s TV series.  The movie did well at the box office, but received mixed reviews.  The fourth and final film of the series was ''Batman and Robin'', released in 1997.  Widely regarded as the worst of the series by fan and critic alike, ''Batman and Robin'' returned fully to camp, featuring "candy-coated" sets, poor special effects, weirder science than normal from Bat-Media, character derailment, and Arnold Schwarzenegger as the lead villain Mr. Freeze, who had with barely 100 lines of dialogue, over half of which centered around cold-themed puns.  This film was reviled for years as having "killed" the franchise, and performed relatively poorly in ticket sales.  Prior to the release of ''Batman & Robin'', a fifth film, entitled ''Batman Unchained'', was planned.  The film would have seen George Clooney return as Batman, with the villains reportedly being the Scarecrow (with Jeff Goldblum playing the role), and Harley Quinn (with Madonna reportedly being offered the role).  Harley Quinn would've been the Joker's daughter, rather than girlfriend.  Other villains that would've appeared include the Mad Hatter (reportedly said to have been Martin Short) and Man-Bat (reportedly being played by Mark Linn-Baker).  Jack Nicholson would also return as the Joker, being a hallucination as a result of the Scarecrow's fear toxin.  In a 2017 interview, rapper Coolio, who had a cameo in ''Batman & Robin,'' would've returned as Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow.  The film had been slated for release around 1999–2001.

Tim Burton was replaced with Joel Schumacher for the third Batman movie in the canon, ''Batman Forever'' (1995), which introduced Robin (Batman's iconic sidekick), and the villains the Riddler and Two-Face.  Whereas Burton had tried for a more dark and Gothic look, Schumacher went with bright neon colors and brought back some of the camp of the 1960s TV series.  The movie did well at the box office, but received mixed reviews.  The fourth and final film of the series was ''Batman and Robin'', released in 1997.  Widely regarded as the worst of the series by fan and critic alike, ''Batman and Robin'' returned fully to camp, featuring "candy-coated" sets, poor special effects, weirder science than normal from Bat-Media, character derailment, and Arnold Schwarzenegger as the lead villain Mr. Freeze, who had with barely 100 lines of dialogue, over half of which centered around cold-themed puns.  This film was reviled for years as having "killed" the franchise, and performed relatively poorly in ticket sales.  Prior to the release of ''Batman & Robin'', a fifth film, entitled ''Batman Unchained'', was planned.  The film would have seen George Clooney return as Batman, with the villains reportedly being the Scarecrow (with Jeff Goldblum playing the role), and Harley Quinn (with Madonna reportedly being offered the role).  Harley Quinn would've been the Joker's daughter, rather than girlfriend.  Other villains that would've appeared include the Mad Hatter (reportedly said to have been Martin Short) and Man-Bat (reportedly being played by Mark Linn-Baker).  Jack Nicholson would also return as the Joker, being a hallucination as a result of the Scarecrow's fear toxin.  In a 2017 interview, rapper Coolio, who had a cameo in ''Batman & Robin,'' would've returned as Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow.  The film had been slated for release around 1999–2001.

The tone of the first two Burton movies influenced the 1991 critically-acclaimed ''Batman: The Animated Series'', a cartoon shown at first in prime time.  Some of its takes on certain villains - such as the Joker (whose appearance in this series was based on Jack Nicholson's portrayal in the 1989 movie) and Mr. Freeze - became iconic, and it introduced several characters that eventually "immigrated" to the comics, such as Detective Renee Montoya, and the Joker's hench-girlfriend, Harley Quinn.

The tone of the first two Burton movies influenced the 1991 critically acclaimed ''Batman: The Animated Series'', a cartoon shown at first in prime time.  Some of its takes on certain villains - such as the Joker (whose appearance in this series was based on Jack Nicholson's portrayal in the 1989 movie) and Mr. Freeze - became iconic, and it introduced several characters that eventually "immigrated" to the comics, such as Detective Renee Montoya, and the Joker's hench-girlfriend, Harley Quinn.

====Fan films====

====Fan films====

Attempting to get attention for his directing skills Sandy Collora spent $30,000 dollars to create a demonstration reel strictly for the fans.  The result was the 2003 short ''Batman: Dead End'', a film which drew on the imagery of comic artist Alex Ross, in addition to previously-published work by Dark Horse Comics, which pitted Batman against the Alien and Predator from the Hollywood films of the same names.  Starring Clark Bartram as Batman and Andrew Koenig as an escaped Joker, the film earned critical praise from comic veterans and fans alike.<ref>[https://www.usnews.com/usnews/tech/nextnews/archive/next030807.htm][http://www.collorastudios.com/projects/bde/bdemain.htm]</ref>

Attempting to get attention for his directing skills Sandy Collora spent $30,000 to create a demonstration reel strictly for the fans.  The result was the 2003 short ''Batman: Dead End'', a film which drew on the imagery of comic artist Alex Ross, in addition to previously published work by Dark Horse Comics, which pitted Batman against the Alien and Predator from the Hollywood films of the same names.  Starring Clark Bartram as Batman and Andrew Koenig as an escaped Joker, the film earned critical praise from comic veterans and fans alike.<ref>[https://www.usnews.com/usnews/tech/nextnews/archive/next030807.htm][http://www.collorastudios.com/projects/bde/bdemain.htm]</ref>

====Christopher Nolan films (''The Dark Knight Trilogy'')====

====Christopher Nolan films (''The Dark Knight Trilogy'')====

The film series was rebooted again in 2005, with ''[[Batman Begins]]'', a grittier, more realistic take on Batman.  In this film director [[Christopher Nolan]] took Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) halfway around the world in search of the answer to the riddle of criminality.  He learns to fight multiple opponents, conceal himself, and gains the will to act in defense of others.  Returning to Gotham after being declared legally dead, he deftly maneuvers himself back into the control of his murdered father's company and resolves to terrify the criminal element by making himself seem inhuman, choosing the mantle of a bat, because bats scare ''him''.

The film series was rebooted again in 2005, with ''[[Batman Begins]]'', a grittier, more realistic take on Batman.  In this film director [[Christopher Nolan]] took Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) halfway around the world in search of the answer to the riddle of criminality.  He learns to fight multiple opponents, conceal himself, and gains the will to act in defense of others.  Returning to Gotham after being declared legally dead, he deftly maneuvers himself back into the control of his murdered father's company and resolves to terrify the criminal element by making himself seem inhuman, choosing the mantle of a bat, because bats scare ''him''.

Several critically-acclaimed comic book stories - among them ''The Long Halloween'' and ''The Killing Joke'' - were used as well as in the second entry in Nolan's series, ''[[The Dark Knight]]'' (2008), which has thus far exceeded all expectations.  Almost universally lauded by critics and shattering numerous box-office records, ''The Dark Knight'' featured the final complete performance of [[Heath Ledger]] as a monstrous version of the Joker, a psychotic who thinks the only sane way to live [[anarchy|is without rules]] and wants to prove it to the world - and at the same time gave the artists and writers who penned the Batman stories a version of the Joker they thought was closest to their own.  Though the tone at the start of the film is hopeful - Batman has inspired citizens to stand up for themselves again and has organized crime in the city reeling - it quickly spirals downward, embodying the theme that Nolan chose for the movie: things have to get worse before they get better.

Several critically acclaimed comic book stories - among them ''The Long Halloween'' and ''The Killing Joke'' - were used as well as in the second entry in Nolan's series, ''[[The Dark Knight]]'' (2008), which has thus far exceeded all expectations.  Almost universally lauded by critics and shattering numerous box-office records, ''The Dark Knight'' featured the final complete performance of [[Heath Ledger]] as a monstrous version of the Joker, a psychotic who thinks the only sane way to live [[anarchy|is without rules]] and wants to prove it to the world - and at the same time gave the artists and writers who penned the Batman stories a version of the Joker they thought was closest to their own.  Though the tone at the start of the film is hopeful - Batman has inspired citizens to stand up for themselves again and has organized crime in the city reeling - it quickly spirals downward, embodying the theme that Nolan chose for the movie: things have to get worse before they get better.

''[[The Dark Knight Rises]]'' was the third film in what has since been called ''The Dark Knight Trilogy''.  It was released on July 20, 2012.  Most of the cast from the previous two films returned.  New cast members included Tom Hardy as Bane, Anne Hathaway as Catwoman, Joseph Gordon-Levitt as John Blake, and Marion Cotillard as Miranda Tate/Talia al Ghul.  The film takes place eight years after ''The Dark Knight''.  Bruce Wayne has become a recluse after the past eight years.  A piece of legislation called the Dent Act has denied parole to convicts associated with the Mob, most of whom are placed in Blackgate Prison.

''[[The Dark Knight Rises]]'' was the third film in what has since been called ''The Dark Knight Trilogy''.  It was released on July 20, 2012.  Most of the cast from the previous two films returned.  New cast members included Tom Hardy as Bane, Anne Hathaway as Catwoman, Joseph Gordon-Levitt as John Blake, and Marion Cotillard as Miranda Tate/Talia al Ghul.  The film takes place eight years after ''The Dark Knight''.  Bruce Wayne has become a recluse after the past eight years.  A piece of legislation called the Dent Act has denied parole to convicts associated with the Mob, most of whom are placed in Blackgate Prison.

====DCU====

====DCU====

Batman's first appearance in the DCU will be in the film Batman: The Brave and the Bold, which is set to be released at some point in the 2020's.  This version of Batman is reported to most likely be lighter in tone than the last iterations.  James Gunn, who is the head of the DCU has stated this version of Batman will not interfere with Robert Pattinson's, which is an elseworld story, totally independent of the DCU.

Batman's first appearance in the DCU will be in the film Batman: The Brave and the Bold, which is set to be released at some point in the 2020s.  This version of Batman is reported to most likely be lighter in tone than the last iterations.  James Gunn, who is the head of the DCU has stated this version of Batman will not interfere with Robert Pattinson's, which is an elseworld story, totally independent of the DCU.

==References==

==References==