Chris Daughtry: 'American Idol' Was the 'Best Thing That Ever Happened' to My Career

"It was the best thing that ever happened, as far as my career is concerned," the musician tells PEOPLE

Photo: Jason Merritt/Getty

Chris Daughtry isn’t quite convinced American Idol is really coming to an end.

“They’re probably going to bring the original judges back. It’s going to be the biggest viewing they’ve ever had. And they’re going to renew the season,” the season 5 alum told PEOPLE at the Ant-Man premiere in California.

In May, Fox announced that the show’s 15th season – which will air in 2016 – will be their final season.

The rocker, 35, who finished fourth on Idol in 2006, told PEOPLE of his days on the singing competition show, “It was the best thing that ever happened, as far as my career is concerned. Otherwise, people wouldn’t have a clue who I was.”

After leaving the show, he became one of the most commercially successful Idol participants, following Carrie Underwood and Kelly Clarkson up the charts with his band Daughtry.

While he’s deciding exactly how to bid farewell to the show – a guest appearance is “absolutely” a possibility – his extensive comic book memorabilia collection, which includes a copy of the first appearance of the Green Goblin signed by Stan Lee, is keeping him entertained.

Daughtry, who will next star as a drug-addicted rock star on Fox’s new scripted series Studio City, this fall, confessed to PEOPLE at the premiere that he owns several Batman masks and that yes, they do “get worn from time to time.”

He jokes, “A lot of people run into money and they spend it on cars. I just spend it on action figures, comic books and a bunch of crap that [leaves] my wife wondering when it’s going to end.”

• Reporting by SCOTT HUVER