Before production starts on Season 2 of Harry Potter, we have seen a last-minute cast change, with Kit Harington replacing Nicholas Hoult as Gilderoy Lockhart.
It was only recently announced that Hoult (Superman, X-Men) would be joining the cast of the HBO remake, but it is now being reported that he is unavailable due to scheduling conflicts. It would be interesting to know if this is actually true; however, there has been a large amount of backlash towards Hoult as a result of his agreement to join the production. There are mixed feelings around the show from fans due to comments from JK Rowling over the years.
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He has been replaced by Harington (Game of Thrones), who voiced the character in the audiobooks late last year. He told Variety in December that he fell in love with the books as a kid and has reread them multiple times since. “It was a really simple yes, because I love the character,” Harington said. “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.”
For those who don’t know, Lockhart is an arrogant, famous wizard who becomes the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts in Chamber of Secrets. He was played by Kenneth Branagh in the 2002 movie adaptation, with the television adaptation of the second book beginning shooting later this year.
The first season will premiere on HBO on Christmas Day and features Dominic McLaughlin as Harry Potter, with Arabella Stanton and Alastair Stout playing Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley. Other cast members include John Lithgow as Hogwarts headmaster Dumbledore, Janet McTeer as Professor McGonagall, Paapa Essiedu as Snape and Nick Frost as Rubeus Hagrid.
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone airs this Christmas.
