There were some concerns over Robert Downey Jr. potentially not signing a new contract with Marvel Studios and, seeing as he's been doing a superb job with his role, that would suck quite a lot. Luckily, that's not the case and the actor has signed a two-picture agreement with the studio. He'll reprise the role in Marvel's The Avengers 2 and Marvel's The Avengers 3. No word on any other films, though, so that could mean Marvel Studios is happy with Iron Man's solo adventure ending as a trilogy and, in turn, this would grant other characters more time to shine. And as you likely know, they have plans for quite a few characters.
Marvel's The Avengers 2 starts production in 2014 and is set to hit theaters May 1, 2015. Viners, I assume this news has you stoked, yes?
Source: Marvel