Nicholas Hoult won’t be participating in the new HBO reboot of the “Harry Potter” franchise, as the British actor has stepped aside; longtime HBO actor Kit Harington has taken over the role of Professor Gilderoy Lockhart instead.
That Deadline report claims that Hoult had to bow out over “scheduling issues,” although most would be aware there was some steep online backlash as the actor was shamed for knowingly getting involved with the series due to the anti-trans political action fund the show is funding via creator J.K. Rowling, as the money she’s making from the show is being used and funneled to support transphobic policies and politicians in the United Kingdom.
There is a good chance it’s conflicting with Hoult’s new Hulu/Disney+ comedy series “Mosquito” from Tony McNamara (“Poor Things”), which is expected to co-star Daisy Edgar-Jones. Whatever the true intention, Harington has taken the Professor Lockhart part after previously working with HBO on “Game of Thrones” and, more recently, on “Industry“; he wouldn’t be a surprising addition to the “Harry Potter” universe.
The expansive cast already features Dominic McLaughlin as Harry Potter, Arabella Stanton as Hermione Granger, Alastair Stout as Ron Weasley, Rory Wilmot as Neville Longbottom, Amos Kitson as Dudley Dursley, Louise Brealey as Madam Rolanda Hooch, Anton Lesser as Garrick Ollivander, John Lithgow as Albus Dumbledore, Janet McTeer as Minerva McGonagall, Paapa Essiedu as Severus Snape, Nick Frost as Rubeus Hagrid, Bel Powley as Petunia Dursley, Daniel Rigby as Vernon Dursley, Lox Pratt as Draco Malfoy, Johnny Flynn as Lucius Malfoy, Katherine Parkinson as Molly Weasley, Leo Earley as Seamus Finnigan, Alessia Leoni as Parvati Patil, Sienna Moosah as Lavender Brown, and Bertie Carvel as Cornelius Fudge.
Each season is expected to cover subsequent books in the series, as “Harry Potter & the Philosopher’s Stone” is being adapted for the first batch of episodes.
