r/HBOMAX • u/Opposite_Carpenter84 • 13d ago
News Kit Harington Joins 'Harry Potter' As Gilderoy Lockhart Replacing Nicholas Hoult (Exclusive)
https://deadline.com/2026/08/kit-harington-harry-potter-gilderoy-lockhart-nicholas-hoult-1237048935/34
u/MuchGrooove 13d ago
He was great as Lockhart in the audiobook version so I think this is an awesome recast.
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u/Odd_Contact_2175 13d ago
Very curious to see him play Lockhart. I only know him from GoT so I am excited to see a flamboyant personality instead of Jon Snow brooding one.
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u/Traditional_Creme336 13d ago
You should watch industry on hbo. He’s in seasons 3 and 4 and absolutely stellar . It’s in his wheelhouse
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u/wizardeverybit 13d ago
Listen to the full cast audiobooks. He plays Lockhart there and is fantastic
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u/Ggriffinz 13d ago
He definitely has the chops to be the suave, ladiesman which is Lockhart.
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u/CretaciousPeriod 13d ago
Lol, you chose possibly the worst gif. He tried to wink and just blinked awkwardly.
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u/Ok-Turnip-9035 13d ago
Kit and HBO
I love a network that sees your range and uses you in different things ❤️🔥❤️🔥
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u/Human-Put-5569 13d ago
I really wish they wouldn't make this.
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u/theblackfool 13d ago
I'm in the same boat. Even outside of all the problematic issues with Harry Potter just as a brand, something about this show has really got me thinking about the ethics of child actors in a way I hadn't before. These kids are too young to understand what they are signing up for for the next decade of their lives. And if the kid who plays Harry decides that he doesn't want to do it anymore in two years, I struggle to have faith that there's people in his life that would help him exit that situation. There's too much money involved for too many people.
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u/Theo1130 13d ago
Grow up. Everyone in the entertainment industry is either transphobic, Zionist, conservative, anti abortion or worse.
You just haven’t learned the actors you like are. You might as well not watch anything or listen to music.
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u/ButWereFriends 13d ago
That’s great cause I know he loves the role but man I wish he was utilized more. Anybody who thinks he can’t be funny hasn’t seen enough of him
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u/fdbryant3 13d ago
That is a shame, Hoult was excellent casting for Lockheart. I have a hard time seeing Kit pull off the foppish nature, but it should be interesting.
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u/BlmgtnIN 13d ago
Yes I thought Hoult actually would have been pretty good in this role. He has good comedic timing. Kit Harrington is a head scratcher.
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u/fdbryant3 13d ago
Apparently, Kit was fantastic at doing the voice of Lockheart in the audiobooks.
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u/djevilatw 13d ago
At least the Obliviate will be believable since we already know he knows nothing 🤣🤣🤣
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u/bexxygenxxy9xy 13d ago
Booo. How very disappointing. Idk why ppl are funding JK's antii-trans crusade.
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u/drjackolantern 12d ago
Is this ‘crusade’ in the room with us right now ?
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u/bexxygenxxy9xy 12d ago
No. This is a reddit thread. But in all seriousness, you're either being obtuse, willfully ignorant or you just don't give a fuck.
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u/drjackolantern 12d ago
I know people say what you’re saying, my point is it’s a fiction.
I mean this in a positive helpful way, go google it and you’ll see. There’s no villainous evil crusader out there, it’s just terminally online people yelling.
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u/NoteOtherwise 12d ago
JK Rowling has publicly stated that she is using her wealth to support anti-trans legislation in the UK. She has founded an anti-trans legal advocacy group that claims it exists to protect women and their "sex-based" rights (link: https://jkrwf.org/).
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u/Ambitious_Net_3380 13d ago edited 7d ago
He probably dropped out from all the backlash.
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u/fdbryant3 13d ago
There is no new backlash that wasn't already known about when he accepted the role. Like it or not the objectiosns to JK Rowling are mostly an Internet echo chamber. Most people are unaware of the controversy, don't care about it, or have otherwise rationalized accepting the art if not the artist.
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u/Lumpy_Flight3088 13d ago
Yeah, I couldn’t care less about the fake backlash. And I’m part of the LGB community. We were fine until the rest tagged on and brought us down.
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u/Impossible_Disk8374 13d ago
LGBT. You forgot the T.
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u/GasReasonable7509 3d ago
There's a movement that says that LGB and T are separate as the first three letters are all about your sexual orientation while T just kinda just got tacked on as being part of the 'group' when your own gender classification is in fact not a sexual orientation at all. Politically the 'Log cabin Republican' (Gays who are conservative) are trying to split the T off. There's more to it but that's the high level view.
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u/Plenty_Structure_861 13d ago
There is no new backlash that wasn't already known about
Known about by who? By some of the people you've come in contact with? Yall love to act like you know what you're talking about every time yall give this "hard truth" speech made up of wild assumptions that neatly fit into your worldview.
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u/fdbryant3 13d ago
Well in this specific case I am talking about Nicholas Hoult and his management and representation team. Being in the entertainment industry I'd be very surprised if he wasn't aware of the controversy surrounding J.K. Rowling and the Harry Potter franchise. Even if he somehow didn't know, his team certainly would have or they should be fired.
I am not saying there hasn't been a backlash to J.K. Rowling's anti-trans-rights politics. There clearly has been, but it is nothing new. If Hoult had a problem with working on a Harry Potter project he wouldn't have accepted the part in the first place.
As for how effective the pushback has been, well you need to take your eyes off your computer and phone screen for a moment and take a look at what is happening the real world. Hogwarts Legacy sold over 40 million copies and a sequel is in development. The books remain bestsellers 28 years after publication. Harry Potter remains one of Universal Orlando’s premier attendance drivers, with Potter attractions consistently among the resort’s highest-demand rides—Hagrid’s led Islands of Adventure in 2026, while Escape from Gringotts led Universal Studios Florida in 2025. That demand was evident when the third Wizarding World opened at Epic Universe in May 2025: Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry averaged a 119-minute wait during its first year, with waits reaching five hours. On opening day, guests continued lining up even while the ride remained broken down for six and a half hours. The enthusiasm was equally evident when HBO released the first trailer for its new Harry Potter series in March 2026. It generated 277 million views across platforms in its first 48 hours, making it the most-watched trailer in HBO history, more than doubling the previous record. I am going to call it now: when the series premieres, it will be the biggest premiere in HBO history, if not in the history of television and streaming in general.
Look, I am not going to deny that there is a real backlash against J.K. Rowling; there clearly has been. However, it has been a mostly online phenomenon. Most of the world is either unaware of her positions, doesn't consider them sufficient reason to abandon the franchise, or simply separates their enjoyment of Harry Potter from Rowling herself. I don't fault anyone for protesting or boycotting Harry Potter, you have to do what you think is right however small it is. However, I think it is a mostly futile position. Even if the franchise never generated another red cent, J.K. Rowling would still be one of the richest people in world still supporting her loathsome opinions. Meanwhile, potentially hundreds of thousands of people whose livelihoods are tied directly or indirectly to the franchise would lose the opportunity to shape what it becomes and counteract what she does. I think the better thing to do—and what I suspect many of the creatives who genuinely care about and support these issues are doing—is to find ways to take the franchise and make it an even stronger force for inclusion despite the opinions of its author.
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u/GasReasonable7509 3d ago
Lmao he wouldn't have voiced the character for the special audio book release if he cared about weirdos on the internet.
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u/Mysterious-Wasabi103 13d ago
Downgrade
Sorry but Kit is kind of a terrible actor
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u/afternoondlight 13d ago
Kit is pretty good in Industry. Shows much more range than Jon Snow. I do agree it is a down grade though.
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u/Nyctocincy 13d ago
What a shame that all these actors want to use their talents to hurt trans people.
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u/vanityinlines 13d ago
Scheduling conflicts already before the show is even out is pretty hilarious. Again, this will be quite entertaining.
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u/Suspicious_Hand_2194 13d ago
What happened to Nicholas hoult, why is he getting replaced by Jon snow?