25 August 2026
Game of Thrones star Kit Harington is heading to Hogwarts.
Harington has been cast as the flamboyant wizard Gilderoy Lockhart in the second season of HBO’s highly anticipated Harry Potter television series.
The actor will replace Nicholas Hoult, who was previously announced for the role but has left the production because of scheduling conflicts.
From Jon Snow to Hogwarts
Harington is best known for playing Jon Snow throughout all eight seasons of Game of Thrones. He also stars in the BBC and HBO financial drama Industry, making the new Harry Potter role another major collaboration with HBO.
The move sees Harington trading the battlefields of Westeros for the corridors of Hogwarts, where Lockhart will become the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher during Harry Potter’s second year.
Lockhart is a celebrity wizard famous for claiming to have defeated dangerous magical creatures and overcome extraordinary threats. However, his glamorous public image hides a very different reality.
The character was previously portrayed by Kenneth Branagh in the 2002 film Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.
Harington already knows the character
Interestingly, Harington has already voiced Gilderoy Lockhart in the full-cast audiobook adaptation of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, released in 2025.
He will now bring the character to life on screen when the television series reaches Harry’s second year at Hogwarts.
When will the new series arrive?
The first season, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, is scheduled to premiere on 25 December 2026 on HBO and HBO Max.
The second season will adapt Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, introducing Lockhart as one of the major characters in Harry’s second year at the wizarding school.
The series stars newcomers Dominic McLaughlin as Harry Potter, Alastair Stout as Ron Weasley and Arabella Stanton as Hermione Granger, alongside established actors including John Lithgow as Albus Dumbledore and Nick Frost as Rubeus Hagrid.
For fans, Harington’s casting creates an unusual but highly anticipated crossover between two of television’s biggest fantasy franchises — Game of Thrones and Harry Potter.
