Nicholas Hoult Drops Out of ‘Harry Potter’ Series, Replaced by Kit Harington

The upcoming Harry Potter series, set to be released later this year by HBO, already got a major shakeup before its first season is even released. While it was reported earlier this month that Nicholas Hoult would be joining the show in its second season as Gilderoy Lockhart, the Superman actor has already left the project due to scheduling issues.According to Deadline, which first reported Nicholas’s initial casting, the actor has officially left the project and Kit Harington has been tapped to join in as the character he recently played in Audible’s Harry Potter: The Full-Cast Audio Editions.The second season of the series is set to start filming later this year and filming was not able to work around Nicholas’s two other projects.“It was a really simple yes, because I love the character,” Kit originally told Variety in December 2025 when he was cast as Lockhart in the audiobook series. “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.”Right after the news broke, Kit spoke with Collider and reaffirmed his excitement over playing the character.Add Cosmopolitan as a preferred source in your Google search results.Use your Google account to add this to your settings.“Yeah, you’re the first person I’m talking to about this. It just got released. I’m thrilled. I’ve said a million times, for anyone who cares, that I’m a huge Potter fan. I’ve got to be honest, he’s one of my favorite characters,” he said. “So, to be offered to play him is a real dream. I think he’s going to be so fun. You said, I got to play him in the audiobooks. That’s not the exact way I’ll play him in the show because it’s an audiobook, but I’ve had a taste of him and felt my way around him. He’s just a wonderful creation.”When Nicholas was first announced to be playing the role, many fans expressed their disappointment due to J.K. Rowling’s transphobic politics. Now Kit is also facing similar backlash as he takes over.The first season of the Harry Potter TV series will be released later this year.