Kit Harington is stepping into the wizarding world as Gilderoy Lockhart. The Game of Thrones star will replace Nicholas Hoult in the role for season 2 of HBO's Harry Potter series, according to Deadline. Harington will play the famously vain Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher in the season based on Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, the second book in J.K. Rowling's novel series.

Deadline reported that Hoult exited the project due to scheduling conflicts with two other commitments. The role marks a natural next step for Harington, who already voiced Lockhart in Audible's Harry Potter: The Full-Cast Audio Editions last year. 'I think there's a little bit of Gilderoy in all of us... The main thing with him is to come in and have fun. He's having such a fun time all the time. He's loving being Gilderoy Lockhart. That was my main job, really,' Harington said in a featurette for the audiobook.

Kenneth Branagh famously played Lockhart in the 2002 film adaptation of Chamber of Secrets. The original casting announcement generated significant excitement among fans of the franchise, many of whom are eager to see how the television adaptation will handle the beloved and eccentric character compared to the feature films.

Season 1 of HBO's eight-episode Harry Potter series premieres on Christmas Day, while production on season 2 will start filming this fall. Showrunners and network executives are banking heavily on the global appeal of the wizarding franchise to drive subscriptions for their streaming platform.