Brandon Sanderson Calls Out J.K. Rowling: Snape Carried Harry Potter and Voldemort Was a Weak Villain
Brandon Sanderson and Dan Wells dive into the greatest villains in film and literature, sparking a sharp, surprising debate on what makes evil unforgettable in a new episode of Intentionally Blank.
Two fantasy heavyweights sat down to talk villains and, predictably, Voldemort caught some strays. In a 2024 episode of Brandon Sanderson and Dan Wells' podcast 'Intentionally Blank' on Sanderson's YouTube channel, the authors compared notes on the all-timers, the misfires, and the characters who actually make their stories go.
The chat: from Gollum to the guy with no nose
Sanderson and Wells ping-ponged through a bunch of classic bad guys across movies and books, name-checking a few usual suspects and one very weird Marvel head in a chair:
- Gollum and Sauron from The Lord of the Rings
- Professor James Moriarty from Sherlock Holmes
- MODOK from Marvel, as seen in the third Ant-Man movie
- Severus Snape from the Harry Potter books
- Lord Voldemort, obviously
Voldemort vs. the writers
Wells gave the movie version of Voldemort some props for the design, but when Sanderson straight-up asked if Voldemort is a good character, Wells paused and landed on a 'no' — calling him "not particularly deep of a character, he is evil because he wants to be evil."
"He is not interesting. That whole series is carried by Snape."
That was Sanderson, who also made it clear he is not into film Voldemort, even though the books themselves still grabbed him.
Snape: the other guardian angel
If you only know movie Snape as the cranky teacher who roasted Harry on sight, the authors' read lines up with the big reveal: he is the quiet engine under the hood. Like Sirius Black — Harry's godfather who broke out of Azkaban and kept watch from the margins — Snape spends years protecting Harry in ways that mostly go unnoticed until the end.
Underneath the sneer: a double agent who loved Lily Potter, resented James (Harry's dad), and kept playing an impossibly dangerous game inside Voldemort's ranks. He passes along crucial intel, including the final Horcrux and the truth about his own sacrifice, fully aware that getting caught is a death sentence. The late Alan Rickman played him to perfection.
Cast and where to watch
In the films, Ralph Fiennes embodies Voldemort, opposite Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Tom Felton, and more. The Harry Potter movies are available to watch on HBO Max.
Meanwhile, in the Cosmere...
Sanderson's own rogues gallery is, frankly, stacked. From god-tier forces like Odium and Ruin to human (and very messy) operators like Taravangian, Moash, and Sadeas, his villains tend to be blunt, cunning, and driven by motives that actually make sense — which is probably why a flatly evil Voldemort does not do much for him.
Bottom line: the episode is a fun peek at how two storytellers break down what makes a villain tick — and why a character like Snape can end up being the beating heart of a series that is supposed to belong to its Big Bad.