Although these two fantasy franchises are clearly different and have very few common points, the fact that the movie series started about the same time and were equally popular led to fans debating whether The Lord of the Rings was better than Harry Potter or vice versa. And while the debate is not as heated as it was a decade ago, it is still a very important one.

Many people have contributed to this debate one way or another, and during an older interview, Game of Thrones and Star Wars actress Emilia Clarke gave her opinion on the topic, clearly siding with one of the groups.

This, of course, sparked an online debate, as fans on Reddit are discussing her words and the overall impact of the franchises as a whole, which is why we have decided to report on this issue and reveal more details on this story for you to see.

This is a very old Reddit thread, but the debate is truly interesting, which is why we have decided to tell you a bit more about it, as you are now going to see how it all started:

She’s one of us
byu/patthepatriot2020 inlotrmemes

As for the source, this was an old interview that Clarke gave for Collider Ladies Night while promoting her Terminator film; the interview was released eight years ago, and if you want the whole story, here it is:

What interests us is what the fans had to say about Clarke’s answer and here are some of the comments from the original Reddit thread:

Don’t get me wrong. I fucking hated Harry Potter because I saw it as bitch-ass Lord of the Rings. Those books started coming out right when I was full-on surly teenager. It was poser shit. Words like “Hufflepuff” and “Dumbledore” were not helping.

Now that I’m older, I respect it for its quaintness. I’ve never met someone super into Harry Potter who turned out to be a dickweed.

– SmashBusters

On a recent interview she said that she just read the Harry Potter books recently and she became really obsessed with them too. So it’s safe to say she now loves both of them. Khaleesi has taste!

– flou14

As many others have said, HP doesn’t even come close to LOTR in world-building. It’s just not a conversation. This obviously doesn’t mean HP has an uninteresting world, it’s just that LOTR is on another level entirely. Though I will say that I think HP isn’t special because of it’s world-building or lore, I think it’s primary strength is the way it implemented its seven separate books into one story. I think Rowling did a fantastic job of writing a new book that both captured the HP feel while having it’s own vibe and story, and turning it into a children’s epic that had a satisfying conclusion.

Everyone has their favorites, and some have books they don’t like, but I think there’s a reason that HP doesn’t have a book in the series that is notoriously “bad” (like many other book/movie series do)… that’s not touching on the films. Rowling crafted a very good and satisfying story made up of seven books that are great on their own. That’s not saying that Tolkien didn’t pull of a similar feat, or that he didn’t do it better even. I think LOTR is of higher objective quality easily, but HP is definitely a noteworthy series for many reasons, one that will rightfully become more and more of a classic as the years pass.

LOTR FTW FOREVER THO

– kurapikachu64

Have something to add? Let us know in the comments below!