The Dark Knight Rises introduced a heroic cop, John Blake, who became an ally of both Batman and Jim Gordon. After being made Detective, John's full name was revealed as "Robin John Blake," a nod to the Batman's comic book sidekick.
Making it even more noteworthy was the fact Bruce Wayne left a package for Robin leading him to the Batcave. The implication was that he'd become Gotham City's new Batman, picking up where the believed-dead Caped Crusader left off.
There's been a great deal of talk over the years about a possible Batman 4 which would have continued Robin's story. It never came to pass, of course, and Bruce was reintroduced four years later - with Ben Affleck playing a new version of the character - in 2016's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
Talking to Inverse, Joseph Gordon-Levitt was asked if he was ever made privy to any spin-off or sequel plans.
"Nolan was making a trilogy," he explained. "He never wanted to make any more movies. This was an ending to his trilogy. It’s funny, we look back on it now with the context of the Marvel Cinematic Universe - everything is a sequel to a sequel to a sequel."
"But back in those olden days, doing a trilogy was a lot, and that was how it was thought of."
Talking of Marvel, Levitt has been in line for a few MCU roles over the years, including Ant-Man's Scott Lang and Guardians of the Galaxy's Star-Lord. Asked about missing out on those, he'd only say, "Yeah, people like to talk. I understand why it's fun to talk about these kinds of things. I don’t really have anything to add to this. I’m sorry."
The Dark Knight Rises, directed by Christopher Nolan, is the final instalment in his Batman trilogy, released in 2012. The film stars Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne/Batman, alongside a stellar cast including Tom Hardy (Bane), Anne Hathaway (Selina Kyle/Catwoman), Michael Caine (Alfred Pennyworth), and Gary Oldman (Commissioner Gordon).
Set eight years after the events of The Dark Knight, Bruce Wayne has retired from his vigilante role and lives in seclusion. Gotham City enjoys a period of relative peace until the arrival of Bane, a formidable and ruthless mercenary. Bane's plan to destroy Gotham forces Bruce to don the Batman mantle once more. He teams up with Selina Kyle, a skilled cat burglar with ambiguous motives, to save the city.
Would you have liked to see more of "Robin" after The Dark Knight Rises?