Nicholas Hoult officially cast as Gilderoy Lockhart in HBO's Harry Potter – but there's going to be a long wait to see him

As once said by Jack Whitehall during a Shortlist Pub Corner interview, HBO’s new Harry Potter is sort of like jury duty for UK actors – everyone’s going to get the call up eventually. And he wasn’t wrong if the already stellar cast of Paapa Essiedu, Nick Frost, and John Lithgow are anything to go by. Clearly the author’s abhorrent views on the trans community aren’t off-putting enough to make them turn down a role in the upcoming reboot. Now, Hollywood star Nicholas Hoult is taking on one of the series’ most iconic (if lesser known) characters: Gilderoy Lockhart.

First reported by Variety, the Superman star will be playing the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor (/ numpty and OG catfish) during Harry’s second school year. In translation: that means we won’t be seeing him until the second season of the franchise.

The highly anticipated first series is set to land on HBO on December 25th which has adapted the first novel in the book’s series, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Whilst it was confirmed that the series had already been renewed for a second season earlier this year, the casting of Hoult proves that they’re not waiting for audience reaction before cracking on with the next adaptation – not that we’re surprised given the global fanbase. Also this latest casting announcement confirms that the second season won’t be going too rogue and blending different books together, but is staying true to The Chamber of Secrets (aka. the second in the series).

For those who bypassed the Potter craze first time around, Lockhart is a key character in The Chamber of Secrets. Originally portrayed by Kenneth Branagh in the film, Lockhart is a famous, if slightly self obsessed wizard, known for his incredible acts of bravery, ingenuity, and skill – taking on vampires, hounds, and other evil spirits, all whilst protecting small wizarding communities across the world. And he has meticulously documented all of his adventures in a series of books. As well as being arrogant and vain, he’s also supposed to be rather good looking, meaning most of the straight, female wizarding community are completely enamoured with him. And boy does he love it. After a quick appearance in Diagon Alley’s Flourish and Blott, we next see Lockhart in the classroom, having been appointed the new Defence Against the Dark Art’s teacher even though it transpires he’s not even slightly qualified for the job, and he’s more devious and less heroic than claimed.

The casting might be the best yet, with Hoult not only known for holding his own in huge franchises (Lex Luthor in Superman, Dr Hank McCoy in X-Men), but also unafraid to play the arrogant, childlike idiot as seen in The Great for which he earned two Golden Globe and an Emmy nomination.

Filming for the second season of Harry Potter is expected to begin in Autumn 2026, before the first season airs.

Dominic McLaughlin is set to play the titular Harry, alongside Arabella Stanton and Alastair Stout playing Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley respectively. Other cast members include John Lithgow as Hogwarts headmaster Dumbledore while Janet McTeer is Professor McGonagall, Paapa Essiedu plays Snape and Nick Frost has been cast as Rubeus Hagrid.

• The Legend of Zelda movie casting update reveals Sam Neill in his final role

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