Batman is a 1989 superhero film based on the DC Comics character of the same name that was such an anomaly at the time by completely redesigning and reimagining whole parts of Batman's established canon. The film was directed by Tim Burton and stars Jack Nicholson, Michael Keaton, Kim Basinger, Robert Wuhl, Pat Hingle, Billy Dee Williams, Michael Gough, and Jack Palance. 1989's Batman laid the groundwork for the modern superhero film and all of the marketing surrounding them but also set off a number of other comic book movies to be made at the time.