Kit Harington replaces Nicholas Hoult in HBO's 'Harry Potter' TV series

Game of Thrones star Kit Harington is returning to the fantasy genre after being cast as Gilderoy Lockhart in Season 2 of HBO's upcoming Harry Potter television series.

Harington replaces Nicholas Hoult, who was originally tapped for the role but exited the project due to scheduling conflicts, according to Deadline.

However, Harington is no stranger to the character, having previously voiced Lockhart in the full-cast audiobook edition of the Harry Potter series released last year.

"I read it, and like so many generations, I was entranced, and then I was a huge fan all through my teenage years," Harington previously said of J.K. Rowling's books. He also joked, "I think there's a little bit of Gilderoy Lockhart in all of us."

Lockhart, famously portrayed by Kenneth Branagh in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, is the flamboyant and self-absorbed Defense Against the Dark Arts professor known for his exaggerated tales of heroism.

Season two is scheduled to begin filming later this year ahead of the Christmas 2027 premiere of the series' first season. Harington joins a cast led by Dominic McLaughlin as Harry Potter, alongside Alastair Stout as Ron Weasley, Arabella Stanton as Hermione Granger, Nick Frost as Hagrid, John Lithgow as Albus Dumbledore, Paapa Essiedu as Severus Snape, and Janet McTeer as Professor McGonagall.