Kit Harington is heading to Hogwarts, and somehow, the man best known for brooding through Game of Thrones and Industry is about to become one of the wizarding world’s most gloriously narcissistic frauds.
Kit Harington has officially replaced Nicholas Hoult as Gilderoy Lockhart in Season 2 of HBO’s upcoming Harry Potter series. Hoult’s departure was attributed to scheduling conflicts involving his other projects, rather than any confirmed connection to the backlash surrounding the franchise.
Still, Harington’s casting arrives with considerably more baggage than your average trip to Diagon Alley.
Harington Already Knows Lockhart
There is actually something rather perfect about Harington taking over the role.
This is not his first encounter with Gilderoy Lockhart.
Harington previously voiced the character in the new full-cast Harry Potter audiobooks, with Pottermore Publishing and Audible announcing him as Lockhart in 2025.
So while audiences are about to see Harington physically inhabit the character on screen, he has already had a chance to get inside the head of the ridiculous Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.
And what a head it is.
Kit Harington will be perfect in this role pic.twitter.com/n2OACdnJ7K
— ໊ (@random_stuff_x_) August 24, 2026
Lockhart, originally played by Kenneth Branagh in the 2002 film Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, is basically Hogwarts’ answer to an Instagram influencer with a publishing deal. He is vain, self-obsessed, wildly incompetent, and considerably less heroic than his public image suggests.
His greatest talent is not magic. It is taking credit.
READ: Kit Harington Gets Curious—and We’re Watching Closely in ‘Industry’
Then There Is the Rowling Question
Of course, this is where things become considerably more complicated for Kit.
The Harry Potter franchise remains beloved by millions, but its creator, J.K. Rowling, has become one of the most controversial figures in the LGBTQ+ community because of her repeated public statements and activism concerning transgender rights and sex-based policies. Rowling continues to defend her position, while LGBTQ+ advocates and critics characterize her views and associated organizations as harmful to trans people.
That controversy has followed virtually every new Harry Potter announcement, and Harington is unlikely to be exempt simply because he is playing a character rather than creating the series.
The new show also has Rowling as an executive producer, meaning her connection to the production is not merely historical.
Can He Escape the Backlash?
That is the uncomfortable question.
Harington is not Rowling, and playing Lockhart does not automatically tell us what he believes about the controversy surrounding the franchise. But for LGBTQ+ fans who have deliberately stepped away from the wizarding world, the distinction between performer and property may not be enough.
And then there is the delicious irony of it all.
Harington is taking on a character whose entire persona is built around image, reputation, and carefully manufactured public adoration. Lockhart is obsessed with controlling how people see him.
Harington may soon discover that playing the ultimate publicity wizard comes with its own real-world problem: audiences get to decide what they see when they look back.
Welcome to Hogwarts, Kit.
The Sorting Hat may be the least intimidating thing waiting for you.