Some unforeseen scheduling issues have led to a casting shakeup in the upcoming second season of HBO Max’s hugely anticipated “Harry Potter” series.
One actor previously cast has been forced to drop out, leading to the announcement that an in-demand “Game of Thrones” alum has stepped in to take on the fan-favorite role.
Kit Harington Joins the Cast
GettyKit Harington, who played heroic Jon Snow in all eight seasons of “Game of Thrones,” has officially joined the cast of “Harry Potter.”
The Hollywood Reporter reports that Harington will portray Hogwarts’ Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher Gilderoy Lockhart.
This comes as a surprise to fans, given that it was previously announced that Nicholas Hoult had been cast as Lockhart.
According to THR, Hoult was forced to exit “Harry Potter” due to scheduling issues, with production of the series conflicting with that of the upcoming “Superman” sequel, “Man of Tomorrow.” Hoult will be reprising the role of villainous Lex Luthor, which he first played in the 2025 feature.
Kit Harington Has Already Played Lockhart
As THR points out, this won’t be the first time that Harington has played the notoriously vain Hogwarts educator.
While the character was famously portrayed in the film franchise by Kenneth Branagh, Harington played Lockhart in the “Harry Potter: The Full-Cast Audio Edition” of J.K. Rowling’s second novel in the series, “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.”
Per THR, Lockhart is described as the “handsome yet narcissistic con artist who is hired at Hogwarts during Harry Potter’s (Dominic McLaughlin) second year. The character is renowned in the wizarding world for his many heroic deeds, though he’s later revealed as a fraud who took credit for the acts of others after erasing part of their memories.”
An All-Star Cast
HBOYoung actor Dominic McLaughlin will star as the titular Harry Potter. He’s joined by Arabella Stanton and Alastair Stout as Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, respectively.
Meanwhile, Harington will join an impressive array of Hogwarts professors, including Janet McTeer as Professor Minerva McGonagall, Nick Frost as Hogwarts gamekeeper Rubeus Hagrid and Paapa Essiedu as Professor Severus Snape.
Heading the cast as Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore is six-time Emmy winner John Lithgow.
Having celebrated his 80th birthday last year, Lithgow has admitted to some trepidation about taking on the seven-season role due to his age. “That’s why it’s been such a hard decision,” he told ScreenRant shortly after signing on. “I’ll be about 87 years old at the wrap party, but I’ve said yes.”
The ‘Streaming Event of the Decade’
Speaking at a London press event for the upcoming series earlier this year, Warner Bros. Discovery’s CEO of global streaming, JB Perrette, enthused about the “Harry Potter” series, which has already been renewed for a second season.
“The scope of the production, the detail, meticulousness of what they’re going through and what they’ve built takes theatrical to just a whole different level,” he said (via Variety). “And so when you think of the love of that franchise and what you can do in a series — can go deeper, and tell more of the story, can tell more of the pieces that you didn’t get to capture in a two-hour movie … I really think this is the streaming event of the decade.”
“Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” debuts December 25 on HBO Max.
