There are major franchises, and then there's the Wizarding World. Generations grew up with the Harry Potter movies and books, as well as theme parks, stage plays, and more. J.K. Rowling's franchise is getting another book to screen adaptation with the upcoming Harry Potter TV show, and a Game of Thrones favorite recently replaced Nicholas Hoult as Gilderoy Lockhart for Season 2. Let's break it all down.
What we know about the Harry Potter TV show is limited, but its expected to be more faithful to the source material than the movies (which are streaming with a HBO Max subscription). A report by Deadline confirmed that Hoult dropped out due to "scheduling conflicts" opening the door for none other than Kit Harington aka Jon Snow taking on that iconic role.
While the Jon Snow spinoff might have been scrapped, the 39 year-old actor is returning to HBO for the second season of the Harry Potter show. He'll play celebrity author/scam king Gilderoy Lockhart, a role famously played by Kenneth Branagh on the big screen. Talk about having some big shoes to fill.
Harry Potter fans were hyped when Nicholas Hoult was announced as Lockhart, but unfortunately we won't actually get to see him in that iconic role in the TV show's developing second season. So while some people will be disappointed by this casting shakeup, Kit Harington is another well-known actor who will likely help increase anticipation for Season 2. And it doesn't hurt that he's once returning to HBO after his tenure in Game of Thrones, as well as his ongoing role in Industry.
In the books, Gildery Lockhart debuts in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. He's a famous Wizard author, that everyone from Ginny to Mrs. Weasley have a crush on. He eventually becomes the new Defense Agains the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts, although he fails to teach the students much. Eventually it becomes clear that Gilderoy was a fraud, but not before plenty of hilarious scenes feature him failing at his job.
While Kit Harington will be making his debut in the Harry Potter universe in live-action, he's got some experience with Lockhart. Namely because he voiced the character in Harry Potter: The Full-Cast Audio Editions, which was released last year. I have to assume his familiarity with Lockhart, as well as his ongoing relationship with HBO, is why the Game of Thrones alum was chosen to replace Nicholas Hoult. We'll just have to see if the latter actor eventually makes his way to the TV series in a new role.
The Harry Potter movies are streaming now on HBO Max, which will be the home of the TV show when it debuts on December 25th as part of the 2026 TV schedule. Fingers crossed we get to see a sneak peek of Kit Harington as Gilderoy Lockhart sooner rather than later.
