What if all the (live action) Batman movies were in the same timeline . . .

. . . what order would you put these movies in, to create a comprehensive continuity?

BATMAN serial (1943)
BATMAN AND ROBIN serial (1949)
BATMAN [THE MOVIE] (1966)
BATMAN (1989)
BATMAN RETURNS (1992)
BATMAN FOREVER (1995)
BATMAN & ROBIN (1997)
CATWOMAN (2004)
BATMAN BEGINS (2005)
THE DARK KNIGHT (2008)
THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2012)
MAN OF STEEL (2013)
BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE (2016)
SUICIDE SQUAD (2016)
WONDER WOMAN (2017)
JUSTICE LEAGUE (2017)
AQUAMAN (2018)
SHAZAM! (2019)

Note: I threw in some non-Batman movies that nevertheless connect with the Batman movies proper. If you have any other movies that you think should be in this timeline, feel free to add them.

Well Batman 89 through Batman & Robin are a part of the same universe and Catwoman was supposed to be with Michelle Phifer coming back before it turned into the Halle Berry movie. You could argue that Catwoman is in the same universe since in the weird Oracle scene the pictures of previous "Catwomen" has a picture of the version from Batman Returns.

[QUOTE=Jim Kelly;4390578]Note: I threw in some non-Batman movies that nevertheless connect with the Batman movies proper. If you have any other movies that you think should be in this timeline, feel free to add them.[/QUOTE]It really isn't all that possible since the pre-1980s movies have one version of "Robin" while the post 1989-movies have a different version.

You have to look past "the continuity errors" and see the bigger picture--where in the life of Batman do the movies take place? It's a what if, after all, so it doesn't need to be taken so seriously.

Let me give it a try:

Before Batman
WONDER WOMAN--World War I parts
[possibly the JOKER movie]

Batman's Beginnings
BATMAN BEGINS
BATMAN (1989)
THE DARK KNIGHT
BATMAN RETURNS
CATWOMAN

The Dynamic Duo
BATMAN (1943)
BATMAN AND ROBIN (1949)
BATMAN (1966)
BATMAN FOREVER
BATMAN & ROBIN (1997)
[possibly THE BATMAN from Matt Reeves]

The Dark Knight Returns
SUICIDE SQUAD--flashback parts
THE DARK KNIGHT RISES
MAN OF STEEL
BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE

Death of Superman
WONDER WOMAN--framing sequence
SUICIDE SQUAD--present day parts
JUSTICE LEAGUE

Aftermath
SHAZAM!
AQUAMAN
[possibly BIRDS OF PREY; THE SUICIDE SQUAD]

[QUOTE=Jim Kelly;4390795]You have to look past "the continuity errors" and see the bigger picture--where in the life of Batman do the movies take place? It's a what if, after all, so it doesn't need to be taken so seriously.

Let me give it a try:

Before Batman
WONDER WOMAN--World War I parts
[possibly the JOKER movie]

Batman's Beginnings
BATMAN BEGINS
BATMAN (1989)
THE DARK KNIGHT
BATMAN RETURNS
CATWOMAN

The Dynamic Duo
BATMAN (1943)
BATMAN AND ROBIN (1949)
BATMAN (1966)
BATMAN FOREVER
BATMAN & ROBIN (1997)
[possibly THE BATMAN from Matt Reeves]

The Dark Knight Returns
SUICIDE SQUAD--flashback parts
THE DARK KNIGHT RISES
MAN OF STEEL
BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE

Death of Superman
WONDER WOMAN--framing sequence
SUICIDE SQUAD--present day parts
JUSTICE LEAGUE

Aftermath
SHAZAM!
AQUAMAN
[possibly BIRDS OF PREY; THE SUICIDE SQUAD][/QUOTE]

Man of Steel has to happen before Batman & Robin. Superman gets a name drop from Batman.

They can't fit into one cohesive continuity, but as byrd156 said, they can broadly be put in the chronological order of where they would occur in Batman's life and career.

For the purposes of this list, I'm only including the movies where Batman is a major character - no cameos or allusions counted.

Here goes:


[B]Early Years[/B]

Batman Begins
Batman (1989)
The Dark Knight
Batman Returns


[B]The Dynamic Duo Era[/B]

Batman Forever
Batman (1943 serial)
Batman and Robin (1949 serial)
Batman (1966)
Batman and Robin (1997)


[B]Later Career[/B]

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
Justice League
The Dark Knight Rises



My guess is that [I]The Batman[/I] will probably slot into the end of the 'Early Years' era.

YEAR ONE ERA:

Batman Begins
Batman '89
Batman Returns
The Dark Knight

The big ending for this era is Harvey being scarred and becoming Two Face. He'd probably have a role in Batman Begins.

MIDDLE PERIOD:

Batman Forever
Batman: The Movie
Batman and Robin

Didn't include the serials because serials were basically TV shows before TV was a thing. In Forever, Dick would be 12 years old, 15 in the "The Movie", and College age in B and R.

ROAD TO RETIREMENT:

Batman V Superman
The Dark Knight Rises

Omitted Justice League because I consider Justice League media the same thing as Batman media.