Robert Downey Jr. happy with 'Iron Man' role

Robert Downey Jr. has no plans to relinquish Iron Man's power suit anytime soon, saying of the superhero movie trend "you've got to surf that all the way in to shore."

The US actor, resurgent since his appearance in 2008 franchise kickstarter "Iron Man," spoke humbly of his role in the rise of Marvel's Cinematic Universe to The Hollywood Reporter.

Second ensemble film "Avengers: Age of Ultron" is due May 2015, and Downey Jr. is already committed to a third beyond that.

"I think I was at the forefront of something that was coming into being, and I think it has carried me as much as I have informed it," he said.

"It's so easy to become inflated by the successes, but what they really are are long, strong trends. It's just another wave."

And trends they are, with Warner Bros setting up its pitch for a DC Comics rival in the March 2016 film "Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice," and Sony strengthening its hand with a fresh cast for ongoing "X-Men" films.