Superheroes mean big business at the box office. Those larger-than-life comic book characters have never been more popular, but few costumed saviors can generate as much excitement as Batman! The Dark Knight once again broke the internet when the trailer for 'The Flash' dropped and revealed Michael Keaton's return as The Caped Crusader 31 years after he left the Batcave. Only a few other actors have had the privilege of portraying the DC Comics character on screen, read on to find out who...

Wilson was the first and youngest actor to play Batman. He was cast in the role at the age of 23 as an unknown actor in Columbia's 15-episode film serial 'Batman', released in 1943. Audiences were not enamoured with Wilson in the cape and cowl though as he spoke in a Boston accent and his physique didn't shout superhero!

Lowery became the second screen Batman playing the Gotham City Savior in Columbia's 1949 film serial the 'New Adventures of Batman and Robin, the Boy Wonder'. Johnny Duncan was cast alongside him as his sidekick Robin. Before taking on the role of Batman, Lowery had established himself on-screen in action flicks including 'The Mark of Zorro' (1940), 'The Mummy's Ghost' (1944), and 'Dangerous Passage' (1944). The serial was well-received by audiences.

Forever synonymous with the character is Adam West. West played The Caped Crusader in the 1960s ABC television series - in which he starred with Burt Ward as Robin - which ran for 120 episodes. Producer William Dozier cast West as Batman after seeing him play a James Bond inspired spy named Captain Q in a Nestle Quik TV commercial. The show was a massive success both in the US and internationally and led to a 1966 film. West and Ward were seen fighting all of Batman's most infamous archvillains with Cesar Romero, Burgess Meredith and Frank Gorshin giving memorable performances as The Joker, The Penguin and The Riddler respectively. Known for its camp style and moral lessons (as well as the famous "POW" punch bubbles) it left a huge mark on the Batman Universe - much to the displeasure of comic book readers. In the late 2010s West reprised the role for a series of animated adventures.

It's the superhero film that changed everything! When Warners Bros. announced they were making a Batman movie - with Tim Burton at the helm - the stakes were high in terms of whether a big budget comic book movie could be realistically brought to life on the big screen. Batman fans were also worried about how their hero would be depicted with as many as 50,000 letters of protest sent to the offices of Warner Bros. from people fearing that they would use Adam West's portrayal as a template. They needn't have worried though as the character's co-creator Bob Kane was hired as the movie's creative consultant. Michael Keaton beat off stiff competition from the likes of Kevin Costner, Mel Gibson, Tom Selleck, Pierce Brosnan and more to get the keys to the Batmobile and Jack Nicholson was cast as his arch nemesis The Joker, while Prince provided the film's soundtrack. Released in 1989 it was a major critical and commercial hit and led to the 1992 sequel 'Batman Returns, which had Keaton fight Michelle Pfeiffer's Catwoman and Danny DeVito's Penguin. Keaton's portrayal is beloved by fans and he will once again don the cape and cowl 31 years later in upcoming movie 'The Flash'.

Kevin Conroy's career voicing Bruce Wayne and his alter ego began in 1992 with the release of 'Batman: The Animated Series,’ the first animated adaptation of the Gotham City Savior. It was created due to the huge success of Keaton's two films. Conroy also voiced Batman in a series of animated movies and in the Arkham video games. Conroy also played a Kingdom Come-inspired Bruce Wayne in the live action 'Arrowverse' crossover adaptation of 'Crisis on Infinite Earths'. There was an outpouring of love and respect for Conroy and what he had brought to Batman when he died in November 2022, aged 66.

When the Batman franchise was handed over to director Joel Schumacher, Keaton declined to reprise his role as Batman. Names in the frame included Ralph Fiennes, William Baldwin and Johnny Depp, but the keys to the Batmobile were eventually handed to Val Kilmer with Tommy Lee Jones and Jim Carrey cast as villains Two Face and The Riddler. We also finally got a big screen Robin in the 1995 blockbuster with Chris O'Donnell playing the Boy Wonder. Influences from the Adam West TV series began to creep in, and although a box office success - it outperformed 'Batman Returns' - there were criticisms. However, Bob Kane was a fan and described Kilmer's portrayal as being the best Batman up until that point. Due to frustrations with Batman seemingly playing second fiddle to the villains in terms of screen time, Kilmer hung up his cape and cowl after one outing.

George Clooney took up residence in the Batcave in Joel Schumacher's 1997 sequel 'Batman and Robin'. O'Donnell returned as Robin and Alicia Silverstone joined the Bat Family as Batgirl. Arnold Schwarzenegger took on the role as the cold culprit Mr. Freeze and Uma Thurman brought venomous villain Poison Ivy alive on the big screen. Schumacher ramped up the cartoonish camp humor and over-the-top fights much to the disappointment of fans. The movie was a box office disappointment and critical flop, and Clooney was not popular as Batman. The movie was responsible for almost ending the Batman big screen franchise and the superhero did not return to cinemas for eight years. Despite the problems, the villains were well-received and despite the negative reaction Uma has stated that filming was "a fantastic experience".

Following the critical disaster that was 'Batman and Robin', it was 'Memento' director Christopher Nolan who was tasked by Warner Bros. to reboot the Batman franchise. Nolan's goal was to bring a realistic and darker Batman and gritty Gotham City to the big screen and an inspiration was comic book 'The Man Who Falls', a short story by Denny O'Neil and Dick Giordano about Bruce Wayne's travels through the world as a young man following his childhood as an orphan. Christian Bale - whose filmography prior to his Caped Crusader casting included 'The Machinist', 'American Psycho' and 'Captain Corelli's Mandolin' - was chosen to suit up as Nolan felt he had "exactly the balance of darkness and light that we were looking for" to play Batman and Bruce Wayne. The film told the story of Bruce's journey to become the Gotham City Savior and it was critically lauded. The movie spawned 'The Dark Knight Trilogy' and the second film in the series is considered by many to be the greatest superhero movie of all-time. The late Heath Ledger gave an unforgettable performance as The Joker in sequel 'The Dark Knight' and he was posthumously awarded the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his portrayal of the maniacal villain.

Will Arnett voiced The Caped Crusader in 'The Lego Batman Movie', after bringing the mini-brick version of the character alive in 'The Lego Movie', released in 2014. Director Chris McKay's 2017 animation encompassed Batman's entire screen history and made multiple gags at the expense of Bale's serious and brooding portrayal, and Adam West's beloved '60s TV series - who could forget Michael Cera's Robin choosing THAT Boy Wonder suit, and of course the reference to Batman's 'useless' shark repellent. With references to the wider DCEU and the Batman video games, the movie covered all bases of the Bat Universe and even included appearances from villains from franchises like 'Doctor Who', 'Godzilla', 'King Kong' and 'The Lord of the Rings' among many more. The movie was a major commercial and critical success.

Ben Affleck became the sixth actor to portray Batman in a live-action movie. Affleck was cast by Zack Snyder to play an older Dark Knight, who had become weary of the crime in Gotham City and wary of the potential threat of metahumans if they chose to use their powers against humanity, in particular Superman. Affleck made his debut in the role in 2016's 'Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice' opposite Henry Cavill as the Man of Steel. After a cameo elsewhere in the DCEU, Affleck returned in 2017's 'Justice League' - which was followed by 2021's 'Zack Snyder’s Justice League'. Affleck will make one more outing as Bruce Wayne and his alter ego in 'The Flash' movie coming this summer.