Claim: Batman Begins predated The Dark Knight.

The Dark Knight Trilogy is a superhero film trilogy based on the DC Comics character Batman . The trilogy consists of Batman Begins -LRB- 2005 -RRB- , The Dark Knight -LRB- 2008 -RRB- , and The Dark Knight Rises -LRB- 2012 -RRB- , directed by Christopher Nolan .   Following the critical failure and box office disappointment of Batman & Robin -LRB- 1997 -RRB- , Warner Bros. rebooted the film franchise . The trilogy stars Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne/Batman , Michael Caine as Alfred Pennyworth , Gary Oldman as James Gordon , Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox , and Cillian Murphy as Dr. Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow .   Each film in the series was a critical and box-office success . The second and third films each earned over $ 1 billion worldwide .