Batman has a long history on the silver screen, and he's gone through many phases, including when it comes how old the iconic character is. Arguably the most popular superhero of all time, Batman is a role only a select few actors have gotten the privilege to play. Like James Bond, Sherlock Holmes and fellow DC hero Superman, Batman is a character so beloved that he'll outlast any actor, always finding his way into a new film, no matter how many different people don the wardrobe.
Appropriately, given the fact that multiple men have worn the Batman costume in DC's comic books, Batman has become a symbol not just in Gotham City but in real-life pop culture. Everyone knows who Batman is, whether they read comics or not, as Batman has muscled into every form of mass media from movies to TV shows to video games to theme park rides, and beyond. Batman will seemingly always find a way to be reinvented, no matter how much times might change.
So far, eight actors have portrayed Batman in feature films, with the Caped Crusader starring in 10 films to date, with an eleventh on the way in 2022. Here's how old, at least to the best of our knowledge, Batman was in each.
Adam West (Batman 1966)
The classic 1960s Batman TV show starring Adam West as The Caped Crusader never gave any firm clues as to how old Bruce Wayne was supposed to be in it. With that in mind, Adam West was 37 years old when season 1 premiered - as well as when the 1966 tie-in movie hit theaters - and since Batman is already a veteran crimefighter from the start of the show, Bruce being in his late 30s to early 40s makes sense.
Michael Keaton (Batman 1989 & Batman Returns)
Batman 1989, Tim Burton's first crack at directing Gotham City's resident protector, starred Michael Keaton in a fondly-remembered take on the titular role. He would return for 1992 sequel Batman Returns, also directed by Burton. Like with West's Batman, the Burtonverse doesn't spell out how old Bruce is supposed to be, so the logical thing is to look at Keaton's real-life age. Oddly enough, Keaton was also 37 when playing Batman for the first time, which makes him 40 in Batman Returns. However, the fact that Batman is treated as a relatively recent development in Gotham during Burton's first film would suggest that Bruce is supposed to be a little younger, perhaps 32 or 33.
Kevin Conroy (Batman: Mask of the Phantasm)
A tie-in to the legendary Batman: The Animated Series, Batman: Mask of the Phantasm is Batman's only animated theatrical release, featuring regular actor Kevin Conroy voicing the character. Obviously, with a voice role, an actor's real age has no real bearing on the character's age. That said, Batman Beyond is a sequel show set in the future of the same universe, and official marketing material establishes that Bruce is somewhere in his late 70s to early 80s. This logically puts him in his early to mid 30s during Batman: The Animated Series, and thus Mask of the Phantasm, aside from the flashback portions.
Val Kilmer (Batman Forever)
Batman Forever also doesn't firmly establish Bruce's age, perhaps because filmmakers want to avoid him being seen as possibly too old for his job. Val Kilmer is about eight years younger than Keaton, and was 35 when the sequel released to theaters. That leads to a bit of an age conundrum, since 1995's Batman Forever is continuing in the same world as the Burton movies, yet Kilmer is 35 six years after Keaton was 37. However, if Keaton's Bruce was intended to be around 32 or 33, that would put actually Kilmer at closer to how old Bruce should be in the Burton timeline.
George Clooney (Batman & Robin)
To continue the pattern, 1997's Batman & Robin also doesn't spell out Bruce's age. George Clooney was actually the same age taking over the role, 35, as Kilmer was when he starred in Batman Forever. If the Burtonverse movies are taking place roughly in the same timeframe as their release years, that would mean Bruce should be at least 40 by this point, if not a few years older. Yet due to the different actors being cast, he's kind of in age stasis, at least as far as appearance goes.
Christian Bale (The Dark Knight Trilogy)
Christian Bale became the youngest Batman actor by a notable margin for 2005's Batman Begins, as he was 31 when director Christopher Nolan's film released. Finally, the film itself gives some concrete info as to Bruce's age, as he celebrates his 30th birthday at Wayne Manor near the end, making Bale very age appropriate casting. 2008's The Dark Knight takes place one year after Batman Begins, so that would make Bale 34 playing 31. However, there's an about eight-year time gap between Dark Knight and 2012's The Dark Knight Rises, making Bruce 39 going on 40.
Ben Affleck (Batman V Superman & Justice League)
Zack Snyder's Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice goes back to being cagey about Bruce's exact age, although the film's executive producer Michael Uslan once said publicly that Batfleck was in his mid-40s. Affleck was 43 in real-life when the DCEU installment released, making him fairly age appropriate casting. Justice League is set about two-years later, so Bruce is likely 47 or 48 by that point, which his statement about being Batman for 20 years goes along with, as many versions of Batman first don the cowl in their mid-20s. As a bonus, he's probably 46 or 47 during his various Suicide Squad cameos, which is set about a year before Justice League.
Robert Pattinson (The Batman)
While the final version of The Batman may of course reveal something different, prior reports have said that writer/director Matt Reeves' script places Bruce Wayne right around 30-years-old. Robert Pattinson is currently 34, so he's not far off from that mark. The Batman of course is centered around featuring a Batman much earlier in his crimefighting career than the Affleck version present in the last few DC films. The Batman hits theaters in 2022, following a major delay in production due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
