The actor, who was recently cast as the fame-obsessed Defense Against the Dark Arts professor Gilderoy Lockhart for the show’s second season, was forced to step down after production timeline shifts clashed with his prior filming commitments.
HBO originally structured Hoult’s contract around his existing obligations—which include reprising his role as Lex Luthor in DC’s Man of Tomorrow. However, when the shooting calendar for Lockhart’s scenes moved within Season 2’s production timeline, the delicate scheduling workaround collapsed, leading both sides to amicably part ways and release Hoult from his deal.
Enter Kit Harington
Taking over the mantle of Hogwarts’ most charmingly fraudulent celebrity wizard is Game of Thrones alumnus Kit Harington. The casting marks a natural fit for Harington, who previously voiced Lockhart in the 2025 Harry Potter: The Full-Cast Audio Editions. Harington now steps into the live-action robes of the vain, memory-charming professor previously portrayed on the big screen by Kenneth Branagh in 2002.
Adapting J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Season 2 begins production this fall as Season 1 prepares for its premiere. Harington joins an adult cast that includes John Lithgow as Albus Dumbledore, Janet McTeer as Minerva McGonagall, Paapa Essiedu as Severus Snape, and Nick Frost as Rubeus Hagrid, alongside young leads Dominic McLaughlin (Harry Potter), Arabella Stanton (Hermione Granger), and Alastair Stout (Ron Weasley).