Kit Harington joins the highly anticipated Harry Potter television series as Gilderoy Lockhart, the wizarding world celebrity turned Hogwarts instructor. X-Men star Nicholas Hoult was originally cast in the second series earlier this month, but has now left due to scheduling issues, according to HBO. Best known for playing Jon Snow in Game of Thrones, Harington also appears in the BBC and HBO financial drama Industry. The star previously voiced Lockhart in an audio version of Harry Potter. “I’m a huge Potter fan. I have to be honest, he’s one of my favorite characters,” Harington told Collider, outsider. “So, being offered to play him is a real dream. I’ve tried it [in the audiobook] and I felt my way around it. It is simply a wonderful creation. “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone will premiere this Christmas on HBO Max. The second season will adapt the second book in JK Rowling’s series, The Chamber of Secrets, which chronicles Potter’s second year at the magical school. “Before beginning his second year at Hogwarts, there has been a slight change due to the calendar: Kit Harington will take on the role of Gilderoy Lockhart,” said a statement from HBO, external. The new series adaptation of the best-selling books stars newcomer Dominic McLaughlin as the boy wizard, Alastair Stout as his best friend Ron Weasley and Arabella Stanton as the young witch Hermione Granger. Oscar-nominated actor Jon Lithgow has been cast as Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore, and Nick Frost will play gamekeeper Rubeus Hagrid.
