Hbo's Harry Potter Season 2 Casts Got Star As Gilderoy Lockhart As Nicholas Hoult Drops Out

Helen Sloan/HBO

Nicholas Hoult is officially out of the Harry Potter TV series ... and "Game of Thrones" star Kit Harington is in for its planned second season.

Deadline exclusively reported that Hoult, who was set to play Professor Gilderoy Lockhart — the hapless, fraudulent Defense Against the Dark Arts professor in "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" who's played by Kenneth Branagh in the original film series — dropped out due to scheduling conflicts with other projects. One of them might be "Man of Tomorrow," James Gunn's next Superman movie in which Hoult will reprise his role as Lex Luthor alongside current Man of Steel David Corenswet and "Supergirl" star Milly Alcock. In any case, Hoult's out, and Harington will now play Lockhart instead.

Harington has some experience playing this conceited, totally unqualified professor who steals other people's stories, casts memory charms, and claims their accomplishments for his own. He voiced Lockhart in "Harry Potter: The Full-Cast Audio Editions," which released in 2025. In a featurette referenced in Deadline, Harington said of the original book series, "I read [Harry Potter], and like so many generations, I was entranced, and then I was a huge fan all through my teenage years."

According to the outlet, the second season of "Harry Potter," which will adapt "Chamber of Secrets," begins production in fall 2026. Though this seems like rote casting news, it's sure to stir up some controversy ... something that has plagued this HBO TV reboot since its inception.