Kit Harington replaces Nicholas Hoult as Gilderoy Lockhart in HBO’s ‘Harry Potter’

Kit Harington will play Gilderoy Lockhart in the second season of HBO’s Harry Potter adaptation, with the network confirming that the actor has replaced Nicholas Hoult as the celebrity wizard and Hogwarts professor. The change was announced just days after Hoult was revealed as the new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, with the production’s shifting schedule creating conflicts with the Superman star’s existing commitments.

Lockhart is introduced in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, which will form the basis of Season 2. The famously vain wizard arrives at Hogwarts with a lengthy list of supposedly heroic achievements and a bestselling collection of books documenting his adventures. His reputation begins to unravel as Harry, Ron and Hermione discover that Lockhart’s greatest talent lies in taking credit for other people’s accomplishments. Kenneth Branagh previously played the character in the 2002 film adaptation.

Harington already has an unusual connection to the character. The Game of Thrones star previously voiced Lockhart in Audible’s full-cast adaptation of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, released in December 2025. He therefore moves from recording the character’s voice to portraying him in live action for HBO.

Harington is best known for playing Jon Snow throughout HBO’s Game of Thrones, a role that earned him two Primetime Emmy nominations. He has continued his association with HBO through Industry, in which he played Sir Henry Muck, and now returns to the network for a very different kind of fantasy role. Harry Potter executive producer and director Mark Mylod also previously directed Harington in Game of Thrones.

The recasting comes as HBO prepares to move directly into production on the second season. The first season, which adapts Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, began production in 2025 and is scheduled to premiere on December 25, 2026. Season 2 is expected to begin filming this autumn.

The new series stars Dominic McLaughlin as Harry Potter, Arabella Stanton as Hermione Granger and Alastair Stout as Ron Weasley. The ensemble also includes John Lithgow as Albus Dumbledore, Janet McTeer as Minerva McGonagall, Paapa Essiedu as Severus Snape and Nick Frost as Rubeus Hagrid.

Francesca Gardiner serves as showrunner, writer and executive producer, with Mark Mylod executive producing and directing multiple episodes. Jon Brown has also been elevated to co-showrunner for the second season as HBO manages overlapping production schedules.

The HBO adaptation is designed to revisit each of J.K. Rowling’s seven novels across multiple seasons, allowing Chamber of Secrets to expand Lockhart’s role beyond the roughly two-hour runtime of the 2002 film.