Kit Harington has been cast as Gilderoy Lockhart in HBO's Harry Potter television series, the network confirmed to the BBC. Harington is replacing actor Nicholas Hoult, who could not film season two due to a scheduling conflict.
Harington, best known for playing Jon Snow in Game of Thrones, previously voiced Lockhart in Audible's star-studded Harry Potter: The Full-Cast Audio Editions last year. The casting marks his third collaboration with HBO, following Game of Thrones and the financial drama Industry.
The HBO series will adapt the seven books in J.K. Rowling's franchise across multiple seasons, with each book forming the basis of one season. Season two will cover The Chamber of Secrets, in which Lockhart serves as the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts. Kenneth Branagh portrayed the character in the Warner Bros. films.
The new series stars Dominic McLaughlin as Harry Potter, Alastair Stout as Ron Weasley, and Arabella Stanton as Hermione Granger. Jon Lithgow has been cast as Dumbledore and Nick Frost as gamekeeper Rubeus Hagrid. Director and executive producer Mark Mylod worked on Game of Thrones and is directing some Potter episodes.
The first season, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, is scheduled to premiere on HBO Max at Christmas this year. The series is expected to take approximately 10 years to complete, according to producers.
