Harry Potter Season 2 Recasts Major Role With Kit Harington After Star Exits

Published Aug 24, 2026, 12:38 PM EDT Andy Behbakht has worked as an entertainment journalist since 2010, covering all the latest in Hollywood on both the big and small screens, from staying on top of the biggest breaking news, analyzing movies and television shows in Hollywood, to in-depth interviews with actors and storytellers. Andy's career includes having worked for publications such as FanSided, KSiteTV, TV Fanatic, It's Just Movies, Heroic Hollywood, TV Overmind, and more. Outside of his career as an established reporter, Andy is the host and producer of The Showrunner Whisperer, The Flash Podcast, the editor-in-chief of Multiverse of Color, and the network director of DC TV Podcasts. Sign in to your ScreenRant account This article covers a developing story. Continue to check back with us as we will be adding more information as it becomes available.HBO faces drama behind the scenes for one of its biggest upcoming series. The Harry Potter franchise is getting reimagined in 2026, this time as a television series, retelling the story of the famous wizard. However, as the HBO project is already working on the second season, the creative team is already having to retool their plans. Deadline has revealed that Nicholas Hoult has exited the Harry Potter TV show after previously being cast as Gilderoy Lockhart. Instead, Game of Thrones' Kit Harington is taking over and will now star as the character. The trade notes that Hoult left Harry Potter season 2, which is adapting The Chamber of Secrets, over "scheduling issues," as it's most likely related to his other Warner Bros. Discovery gig, with the actor currently filming Man of Tomorrow, reprising his role as Lex Luthor in James Gunn's upcoming Superman continuation. According to Deadline, HBO "reached out to Harington who was available — and excited to take over the role." Kit Harington's Harry Potter Casting Comes Full Circle As the Jon Snow actor returns to HBO to be part of the Harry Potter cast, this is coming years after the star shared how he always wanted to be part of this franchise. During the Toronto International Film Festival in 2018, Harington revealed his Harry Potter dreams, stating, “I always wanted to be in a Potter movie. I always wanted to be Harry Potter." While it was obviously not planned from the start, this won't be the first time Harington plays Professor Lockhart. The Game of Thrones veteran has already voiced the character in Audible's Harry Potter: The Full-Cast Audio Editions, which was released in 2025. He shared with Variety last year how he got involved with the audiobooks, and why he loved the idea of taking on Lockhart: Kit Harington: It’s very simple. They asked whether I wanted to play Lockhart. It was a really simple yes, because I love the character. As far as cameos in a series go, you don’t get much more entertaining and fun to do as an actor than Gilderoy Lockhart. It was a no-brainer. There was a part of me that was wondering, “Why have they come to me for Lockhart?” I didn’t want to go into why that was too much and why they thought that was my casting breakout. I got my recording done in a couple of days because he’s in Book Two, and then he reappears in Book Five briefly. He’s just a lovely little, entertaining, tragic comical character who popped in. I think I’ve got it quite easy. Developing... Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (season 1) premieres on December 25 on HBO and HBO Max, with The Chamber of Secrets season 2 premiering in 2027. Release Date December 25, 2026 Showrunner Francisca Gardiner Directors Mark Mylod Cast Dominic McLaughlin Harry Potter Janet McTeer Minerva McGonagall