Kit Harington is joining HBO’s Harry Potter series as Gilderoy Lockhart in Season 2, taking over the role after Nicholas Hoult left because of scheduling issues. HBO had to let Hoult out of his deal after filming for Lockhart’s scenes shifted within the season’s production plan, and the network then reached out to Harington.
The timing matters because Season 2 is scheduled to begin filming this fall, and the casting choice locks in one of the series’ most visible parts before cameras roll. Harington was available and excited to step in, which makes the replacement more than a simple recast: HBO has now moved quickly to settle a role that sits at the center of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.
Harington is not coming to the part cold. He voiced Gilderoy Lockhart in Harry Potter: The Full-Cast Audio Editions released late last year, and he said he had been a huge fan of the Harry Potter books throughout his teenage years. He also said there is a little bit of Lockhart in all of us, a remark that fits a character built on vanity, performance and self-importance.
That background gives HBO a neat continuity even as it replaces Hoult, who had been cast first. The production shift that moved Lockhart’s scenes later in the schedule created the opening, and it is the kind of behind-the-scenes change that can reshape a cast list without ever becoming visible on screen. It also means the role is in familiar territory for the franchise: Kenneth Branagh played Lockhart in the second movie.
The casting adds another layer to Harington’s existing HBO ties. He played Jon Snow on all eight seasons of Game of Thrones and is currently a series regular on HBO’s Industry, so the network is once again turning to one of its most recognizable faces for a key part in a new flagship series. Harry Potter, which will air on HBO and stream exclusively on HBO Max, already has Dominic McLaughlin as the titular wizard, with Alastair Stout as Ron Weasley, Arabella Stanton as Hermione Granger, Nick Frost as Rubeus Hagrid, John Lithgow as Albus Dumbledore, Paapa Essiedu as Severus Snape and Janet McTeer as Professor McGonagall.
Francesca Gardiner is set as showrunner for Season 1, titled Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, with Mark Mylod serving as executive producer and directing multiple episodes. Jon Brown has been elevated to co-showrunner for Season 2 alongside Gardiner, which makes Harington’s casting one of the clearest signs yet that the second season is already moving into place. The unanswered question is not who will play Lockhart now, but how much more of Season 2 HBO will settle before filming begins this fall.
