George RR Martin has boldly sided with The Lord of the Rings over Harry Potter, declaring the superiority of one iconic wizard over the other.
The author attended the premiere of Tolkien, the biographical film dedicated to JRR Tolkien, on Wednesday in Los Angeles.
After the screening, Lily Collins, who plays Tolkien’s wife Edith Bratt, named Harry Potter as her favourite book series, according to Variety.
Martin reportedly shot back: “Gandalf could kick Dumbledore’s ass.”
He was of course referring to Gandalf the Grey (later known as Gandalf the White), the respected wizard who leads the Fellowship of the Ring in Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Albus Dumbledore, as Harry Potter fans will remember, is the beloved Hogwarts headmaster and leader of the Order of the Phoenix in JK Rowling’s series.
Martin credited Tolkien with igniting his love for epic fantasy and said Tolkien’s trilogy had inspired the format for A Song of Ice and Fire, Martin’s book series on which Game of Thrones is based, joking: “Now my trilogy is seven books – if I finish the last two.”
