After playing supervillain in ‘Superman’, mutant hero in ‘X-Men’ and strapping on for the ‘Mad Max’ franchises, Nicholas Hoult is now set to put on his wizzarding hat and join the ‘Harry Potter’ series.

Nicholas Hoult joins cast of ‘Harry Potter’ series

The actor has reportedly joined the cast of HBO series, where he will play the role of Gilderoy Lockhart in the second season, which will be based on the second book, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

Who is Gilderoy Lockhart?

Hoult will take on the role of Lockhart, one of the key characters introduced in Chamber of Secrets. The character is detailed as an English half-blood wizard, a Ravenclaw student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and later a famous wizarding celebrity who authored many books on dark creatures and his supposed encounters with them.However, beneath his charming public persona, Lockhart is revealed to be arrogant, vain and far less talented than he claims. He takes up the position of Defence Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts, but his lack of actual ability quickly becomes apparent.

Nicholas Hoult takes up role from Kenneth Branagh

Hoult takes on the role from Kenneth Branagh, who first played the character in the 2002 film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.The highly anticipated series is scheduled to premiere on December 25 on HBO and HBO Max, with its first season adapting JK Rowling’s ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’. Months beore the series could debut online, HBO announced thatthe show had been renewed for a second season.

Nicholas Hoult expands franchise appearances

The casting marks Hoult’s latest major franchise role. The star currently plays Lex Luthor, Superman’s iconic nemesis in the 2025 film ‘Superman’ and is set to reprise the role in the upcoming sequel ‘Man of Tomorrow’, scheduled for release in 2027. He has previously portrayed Dr Hank McCoy, aka Beast, in multiple X-Men films.On television, he starred in Hulu’s critically acclaimed historical comedy-drama ‘The Great’, earning an Emmy nomination and two Golden Globe nominations for his performance. He also reprised his role as Lex Luthor in the second season of ‘Peacemaker’.

‘Harry Potter’ Season 2 cast

Production on the second season of Harry Potter is expected to begin this autumn with Dominic McLaughlin set to lead the series as Harry Potter, with Arabella Stanton playing Hermione Granger and Alastair Stout portraying Ron Weasley.The ensemble also includes John Lithgow as Albus Dumbledore, Janet McTeer as Professor Minerva McGonagall, Paapa Essiedu as Severus Snape and Nick Frost as Rubeus Hagrid.