Kit Harington replaces Nicholas Hoult as Gilderoy Lockhart in new ‘Harry Potter’ series

Kit Harington has replaced Nicholas Hoult as Gilderoy Lockhart in the second season of HBO‘s upcoming Harry Potter series. Hoult’s casting was announced earlier this month, but it has now been confirmed that he has left the production due to scheduling conflicts with two other projects, according to Entertainment Weekly. In his place will be Game Of Thrones star Harington, who has already played the character in a full-cast audio version of Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets, which was released by Audible last December. Lockhart is a vain and fraudulent wizard who becomes Hogwarts’ new Defence Against The Dark Arts teacher in the second book, and he was portrayed by Kenneth Branagh in the 2002 film adaptation. When accepting the audiobook role, Harington told Variety: “It was a really simple yes, because I love the character. It was a no-brainer.” Hoult had faced criticism for taking the role, due to J.K. Rowling‘s controversial views on gender and the trans community. Some fans of the actor objected to his involvement in the project, on which Rowling serves as executive producer, with one saying “all of my goodwill towards him is fully gone”. Several other cast members have d...