Batman is a 1989 superhero film based on the DC Comics character of the same name, and directed by Tim Burton. The film features Michael Keaton as Batman, as well as Jack Nicholson, Kim Basinger, Robert Wuhl, Pat Hingle, Billy Dee Williams, Michael Gough, and Jack Palance. The film is primarily known for depicting a darker and more serious version of the character rather than the more acknowledged Batman TV series from the 1960s. It takes inspirations seen by the work of Bill Finger and Bob Kane's stories from 1939.Development phase for the film initially started as far back as the late 1970s, though due to creative differences on the project, it took roughly ten years to make the film. The film was shot almost entirely at Pinewood Studios and relied upon traditional stunts and miniatures for visual effects. Batman was both critically and commercially successful and garnered the sequel Batman Returns, as well as Batman Forever and Batman & Robin, though the last two were directed by Joel Schumacher rather than Burton. The film series would eventually be "rebooted" with Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins.