Kit Harington replaces Nicholas Hoult in HBO Harry Potter

Kit Harington has replaced Nicholas Hoult in the second season of HBO's Harry Potter series. Harington will take on the role of Gilderoy Lockhart, a character previously assigned to Hoult.

HBO announced the casting change shortly after revealing Hoult as the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. The network stated that Hoult exited the production because of scheduling conflicts with his existing acting commitments. The decision was not a creative choice by the producers.

Season 2 will adapt Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, the second book in J.K. Rowling's series. In the story, Lockhart is a famous but self-absorbed wizard who serves as the new teacher for the subject. His actual abilities prove much less impressive than his reputation suggests. Kenneth Branagh played the character in the 2002 film adaptation.

Harington is well known for his role as Jon Snow on HBO's Game of Thrones. He also appeared in the drama Industry in recent years. The actor had already voiced Lockhart in Audible's full-cast audio adaptations of the books, including the 2025 release of Chamber of Secrets.

The series is scheduled to debut on Dec. 25. Dominic McLaughlin plays Harry Potter, Arabella Stanton plays Hermione Granger, and Alastair Stout plays Ron Weasley. John Lithgow portrays Albus Dumbledore, Paapa Essiedu plays Severus Snape, and Janet McTeer plays Minerva McGonagall.