Kit Harington could not be more thrilled that he is heading to Hogwarts.
The “Game of Thrones” actor has been cast as Gilderoy Lockhart in Season 2 of HBO’s “Harry Potter” series. The actor replaces Nicholas Hoult, who dropped out of the project due to scheduling conflicts just two weeks after his casting was announced.
Now, Harington will play the TV version of the fraudulent Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher originally brought to life on screen by Kenneth Branagh in 2002’s “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.” However, this won’t be Harington’s first time playing Lockhart. He previously voiced the character in the second book of J.K. Rowling’s fantasy series in the recently released “Harry Potter: The Full-Cast Audio Edition” from Audible. Arabella Stanton, who plays Hermione in the upcoming series, also played the young witch in the audio version.
Reacting to his casting for the first time publicly, Harington could not contain his excitement.
“Yeah, you’re the first person I’m talking to about this. It just got released. I’m thrilled,” he told Collider’s Christina Radish in an interview published Monday. “I’ve said a million times, for anyone who cares, that I’m a huge Potter fan. I’ve got to be honest, he’s one of my favorite characters. So, to be offered to play him is a real dream. I think he’s going to be so fun.” “I got to play him in the audiobooks,” he continued. “That’s not the exact way I’ll play him in the show because it’s an audiobook, but I’ve had a taste of him and felt my way around him. He’s just a wonderful creation.”
The casting marks a continuation in Harington’s partnership with HBO, having starred in both “Game of Thrones” as well as “Industry,” for which he is also slated to appear in the financial drama’s fifth and final season. He’ll reprise his role as Lord Henry Muck in “Industry” after first being introduced in Season 3.
It isn’t the first recasting for the HBO series either. In May, HBO announced that it would recast Ginny Weasley ahead of Season 2’s filming after actress Gracie Cochrane exited due to “unforeseen circumstances.”
With Season 1 debuting Christmas 2026, the series received an early Season 2 greenlight from the network in May, with production aiming to kick off in the fall. Season 1 writer Jon Brown (HBO’s “Succession,” “The Franchise”) was also elevated to co-showrunner alongside Francesca Gardiner for Season 2. Season 2 begins filming this fall.
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