George, baby! HBO has pretty much taken out a loan to fund your three Game of Thrones spin-off ideas, which makes a lot of business sense, since, you know, GoT was one of the most popular shows of all time. People love you and your writing! You are not David Benioff or D.B. Weiss! Still, you seem to need a pep talk anyway, so that’s what we’re here for. In a new Maltin on Movies podcast interview, the author expressed skepticism that his “successor shows†will be anywhere near as prominent as the original, all while bringing up the “toxic†internet reaction to Thrones’ conclusion. “The scale of Game of Thrones’ success has — reaching all over the world and invading the culture to such an extent — it’s not something anyone could ever anticipate,†Martin explained, “not something I expect to ever experience again.†Well, if he chooses to attend Thrones’ Comic Con victory-lap panel next month, that’ll be a start.