These 3 Stars Have Worn the Bat Suit and They’re Tied to Montana

Out of all the comic book superheroes, Batman is probably my favorite. His broody, dark demeanor, awesome gadgets, and really cool car all combine for a great character, in my opinion. I'm not sure how I feel about Robert Pattinson as the latest actor to take on the lead role of Caped Crusader, but I'll give the film a shot. The movie, which opens this weekend in theaters nationwide, has received generally positive early reviews.

Rotten Tomatoes is giving it an 84%, IGN says "10/10" and IMDB gave it 8.9/10. One fan reviewer said this,

WOW, WOW, AND FREAKING WOW! I give 20 to 10 for this movie. Dare I say that #thebatman is the best DC movie after having a fantastic Christopher Nolan trilogy. #thebatman is worth all the hype. It is a gripping, gorgeous, and genuinely visual cinematic masterpiece of Matt Reeves.

The supporting characters in The Batman should be great too, with Colin Farrell as The Penguin, Zoë Kravitz as Catwoman, and Paul Dano as The Riddler.

Only six actors have played Batman on the silver screen.

The character was created in 1943, but only a handful of actors have played the Defender of Gotham in the movies, and fans of the franchise can debate for eternity about who played it best. MovieWeb.com ranked them from worst to best, putting George Clooney at the bottom of the list and Christian Bale at the top. Of the six former Batman stars (Batmen? Batmans?) three of them have ties to Montana.

Christian Bale - Batman Begins, The Dark Night, The Dark Night Rises

No, Bale doesn't own a gigantic hobby ranch on a river somewhere in Montana (to the best of my internet searching), but he did star in a 2018 movie called Hostiles where Bale's mission is to escort a dying Cheyenne warrior from New Mexica to Montana in 1892. I haven't seen the film, but a Washington Post reviewer said Bale appeared to be channeling his inner Clint Eastwood in the western.

Ben Affleck - Batman v. Superman, Justice League

Ben doesn't appear to own property in Montana, but he made tabloid headlines in May of 2021 when he and Jennifer Lopez hopped on a private jet from LA, flew into Belgrade, and were promptly whisked off the Yellowstone Club near Big Sky, MT. Page Six reported that Affleck is a member of the exclusive club for the ultra-rich, and he and Lopez stayed in a private home that included a personal chef.

Michael Keaton - Batman, Batman Returns

Keaton (seen above with Jeff Bridges, another part-time Montanan) was the actor that kicked off the modern version of Batman. Fans were initially worried that an actor known for his funny roles wouldn't work out, but it did. The Michael Keaton Batman movies both did well. Keaton has owned a 1,000-acre property somewhere near Livingston/Big Timber for years. He told 60 Minutes in a 2021 interview,

As soon as I bought this place… and it was a dream of mine from time I was a little kid-- it hit me… I don't really own anything, [I’m just] passing through.

 

Hollywood has been coming to Montana for decades.

Keaton has owned his Montana property for at least 20 years, according to this 1994 article from High Country News. He was part of the first wave of celebs "discovering" Montana, around the same time David Letterman and Whoopie Goldberg were snapping up homes/ranches in the Treasure State.