History Film / BatmanFilmSeries

* TwoDecadesBehind: The Burton films depicted Gotham City being ''four'' decades behind. Even though it's clear from the context that the stories are occurring during about the last decade of the 20th century, newspapers still cost about 25 cents, a chemical plant still dumps its toxic waste in the river, suburbs are nonexistent (except for Wayne Manor, of course), the town is without solar or even nuclear power, women still have no way to fight back against discrimination in the workplace, fedoras and late-1940s "New Look" dresses are everywhere, criminals fire Thompson submachine guns, and while the cars are at least contemporary, Bruce Wayne thinks nothing of having Alfred drive him around in a very old-fashioned 1930s Rolls-Royce. Some of this can, of course, be justified by PurelyAestheticEra.

The series is notable for its ToneShift between the first two dark and gothic films directed by Creator/TimBurton and the more colorful and {{camp}}ier latter two directed by Creator/JoelSchumacher, and for its [[TheOtherDarrin changes in leading actors]] in-between installments -- Creator/MichaelKeaton played Bruce Wayne/Batman in the first two films, then was replaced by Creator/ValKilmer for the third, himself then replaced by Creator/GeorgeClooney for the fourth. Longtime Burton {{associate|d composer}} Music/DannyElfman composed the soundtrack for the first two films, and Elliot Goldenthal took over for the last two.

This world is Earth-89 in [[Franchise/{{Arrowverse}} DC's live-action multiverse]] as established in ''Series/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths2019'', and is set to make a reappearance in the DCEU's upcoming movie ''Film/TheFlash2023''. There is also the 2021 ''ComicBook/Batman89'' comic book that continues the story after ''Returns'' while ignoring the Schumacher films.[[note]]Which are claimed to take place on Earth 97 via WordOfGod, although this hasn't been made official yet.[[/note]] Finally ''Film/Catwoman2004'' is implied, at least in BroadStrokes, to be part of these films due to a photo of [[Creator/MichellePfeiffer Michelle Pfeiffer's]] Catwoman being shown.

* DarkerAndEdgier: The two Tim Burton films were way more serious and gothic than the previous official LiveActionAdaptation of ''Batman'', the Creator/AdamWest [[Series/Batman1966 series]]. They do have {{camp}}, but it belongs more in Burton's [[SignatureStyle trademark]] macabre and gothic sort of camp rather than the silly and colorful camp of TheSixties.

* ''Series/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths2019''