Between 2008 and 2012, Christopher Nolan directed three live-action Batman movies. Sometimes these films are referred to as the Christopher Nolan trilogy, sometimes the Batman trilogy, but they are more commonly known as The Dark Knight trilogy.
The three films featured an all-star cast including Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne/Batman, Michael Caine as Alfred Pennyworth, Gary Oldman as James Gordon, Cillian Murphy as Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow, and Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox. But what order should you watch them in?
Below is a guide to the viewing order for The Dark Knight trilogy. I offer up two different viewing orders to ensure you have multiple options, depending on your preferences.
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The Dark Knight trilogy viewing order
The first film in The Dark Knight trilogy is Batman Begins (2005). This film details Bruce Wayne’s journey to become Batman, while introducing the villain, Ra’s al Ghul (Liam Neeson).
The movie establishes Batman as a vigilante crime-fighter in Gotham City and includes an explanation as to how he creates the Batcave, the Batmobile and his various Batgadgets.
The next movie in the series is The Dark Knight (2008), which sees Batman take to the streets of Gotham to take on the Joker – as played by Heath Ledger. This movie also introduces Harvey ‘Two-Face’ Dent, a former ally turned villain played by Aaron Eckhart.
The final entry in this live-action series is The Dark Knight Rises (2012). In this film, Bane (Tom Hardy) and Talia al Ghul (Marion Cotillard) join forces to bring Gotham City to a standstill.
In this film, Batman receives assistance from Detective John Blake (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), as well as Selina Kyle/Catwoman (Anne Hathaway).
The viewing order for the three films in the Batman trilogy is as follows:
- Batman Begins (2005)
- The Dark Knight (2008)
- The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
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The Dark Knight trilogy extended viewing order
In addition to the three live-action movies, an animated Batman film was released in 2008 as a loose tie-in with the series. The film – Batman: Gotham Knight (2008) – does not have to be watched as part of the storyline, but it makes for an enjoyable companion piece.
Should you want further details about the film, then check out my post: ‘The one Batman movie to add to your Dark Knight trilogy viewing’. This post will provide you with further background on the film and how it loosely connects to the Christopher Nolan movies.
Should you wish to include Batman: Gotham Knight into your viewing of the Batman trilogy, then use the following order as a guide:
- Batman Begins (2005)
- Batman: Gotham Knight (2008)
- The Dark Knight (2008)
- The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
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Thank you for stopping by today. Should you wish to learn more about the Batman movies, please take a look around I’ll Get Drive-Thru, where you will find answers to many key questions about the Batman film series.
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