Following the critical failure and box-office disappointment of Batman & Robin (1997), 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, and Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox. Each film in the series was a box-office success, in particular the second and third films, which both earned over $1 billion worldwide. In addition, the trilogy has gained widespread recognition as being the crowning achievement of the superhero genre.[citation needed]