Movie set between Returns and Forever

I always got the vibe that each film represented a different decade in Batman's evolution, and that carried through to the Nolan films.

So, Batman 89 represented the early days before Batman's 'No Kill' rule came into being. It also has a very prominent gangster theme, and the 1930s, the decade in which Batman debuted, was the era of Warner Bros gangster movies.

Batman Returns took a lot of references from Nazi-era architecture, and its various fashions and styles are meant to evoke the post-war boom era (specifically 1947), according to its costume designers. Plus, it was the decade in which Penguin and Catwoman debuted.

Batman Forever takes a lighter, more family-friendly approach that evokes the 1950s, the era in which the Comics Code Authority was implemented to reign back the darker aspects of the medium. Gangster stories and horror was out, but sci-fi and more fantastical stories, which we see with Riddler's brain-drain contraption in the movie, were in.

Batman & Robin recalls the knowing ultra-camp tone of the 60s TV show with its super-colourful characters and its on-the-nose sexuality. Like the (admittedly much better-received 60s show), B&R is often criticised for not taking the character seriously.

Batman Begins represents a return to a more earnest, serious, gritty approach, as seen in the 1970s comics. It also depicts a globe-trotting Batman who is dealing with international threats beyond Gotham, like Ra's al Ghul, who debuted in the 70s.

The Dark Knight pays homage to the darker, more cynical graphic novels of the 1980s, including The Killing Joker and The Dark Knight Returns, in which The Joker plays a prominent role, and like Nolan's 2008 The Dark Knight, the 80s is generally regarded as a high-point in Batman media.

And finally, The Dark Knight Rises builds upon the huge success of TDK, just as 1990s comics developed narratives that directly followed from the events of major stories established in the 80s...

I see the 1989-97 Batman movies as like the James Bond movies in that probably the best way to make sense of the continuity is to use a "broad strokes" approach. During the Roger Moore era of the Bond films, there have been several occasions (such as in The Spy Who Loved Me and For Your Eyes Only) that made reference to the fact that James Bond was once married and his wife was murdered (in On Her Majesty's Secret Service with George Lazenby). And even Licence to Kill with Timothy Dalton explicitly mentioned that the Bond character was once married for a brief time but it didn't end very well.

Have you seen the trailer for The Flash yet?