THE DEVIL IN THE WHITE CITY
plans for a screen adaptation
of Erik Larson’s book
Latest News
January 22, 2025: 20th Century Studios picks up The Devil in the White City as a feature film.
March 6, 2023: Hulu dropped plans to produce The Devil in the White City TV miniseries.
August 29, 2022: “According to a recent listing in Production Weekly, the series is reportedly scheduled to begin filming in March 2023 and will be filmed entirely in Chicago. Exact filming dates and locations have yet to be disclosed at this time.” [ReelChicago.com]
Development of Devil in the White City
A film adaptation of The Devil in the White City was first developed by Tom Cruise and Paula Wagner through their Cruise/Wagner company, but the option lapsed in 2004. Paramount acquired the film rights in 2007 and set it up with producers Michael Shamberg and Stacey Sher. Leonardo DiCaprio bought the film rights to The Devil in the White City in 2010 and began developing it as a feature film for Paramount studios to be directed by Martin Scorsese with DiCaprio was set to star in the leading role of the killer Holmes.
In 2019, the project changed to a big-budget miniseries for the streaming service Hulu. The series is being produced by Paramount TV Studios, ABC Signature, and Appian Way. Hulu canceled their plans in March 2023, but ABC Signature remains committed to the drama and will be shopping the show to new outlets.
Credits
Cast
Keanu Reeves as Daniel Burnham(confirmed 8/4/2022) (exited 10/7/2022)- Matt Damon?
- Robert Pattison?
Producers
- Sam Shaw (show runner)
- Leonardo DiCaprio
- Martin Scorsese
- Keanu Reeves
- Jennifer Davisson
- Rick Yorn
- Stacey Sher
- Lila Byock
Todd Field(exited 10/10/2022)- Mark Lafferty
- ? Emma Koskoff
Writers
Directors
Todd Field reportedly will direct the first two episodes. (out 10/10/2022)
More Information
Internet Movie Database (IMDB) page for the miniseries The Devil in the White City
Posts about Erik Larson’s 2003 book, The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America
Fun Facts about Pope Leo and the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago
Chicago is losing its Malört over the announcement that Cardinal Robert Prevost was elected to be the first pope from the United States. Born in the Bronzeville neighborhood and raised in Chicago’s south suburbs, Prevost has taken the name Leo XIV. Back in 1893, Pope Leo XIII had a varied—and rather unusual—presence at the World’s Columbian Exposition, held in Chicago’s Jackson Park. Pope Leo XIII loaned many Vatican treasures [...]
May 29–Jun. 1, 2025: Chicago Steampunk Exposition
What do you get when you combine a World’s Fair with retro-futuristic imagination? The Chicago Steampunk Exposition! For 2025, the convention theme of “The Curse of Cthulhu” will add a dimension of Lovecraftian weird horror. Throughout the weekend of May 29–June 1, 2025, the Expo will host talks, workshops, activities, and shopping for steampunk enthusiasts who enjoy imagining an alternate World’s Columbian Exposition with Gilded Age gothic adventures. The [...]
174. Picturesque World’s Fair – Interior of the Woman’s Building
INTERIOR OF THE WOMAN'S BUILDING. The interior of the Woman's Building, viewed from the gallery at either end, presented an exceedingly attractive appearance. The great space was admirably lighted from the skylight over the central court, and the objects on display were visible with exceptional distinctness, Very curious and interesting were many these objects, character of which may be at least vaguely discerned in the illustration. A feature of [...]
173. Picturesque World’s Fair – The Idaho Building
THE IDAHO BUILDING.—So attractive and so striking in appearance was the building erected in the Exposition grounds by the Territory of Idaho that before the Fair closed it was sold to an English club to be transported across the ocean and re-erected as a shooting box. The structure reminded one of a Swiss chalet, but was intended in its style and composition to indicate the varied resources of the [...]
Apr. 22, 2025: “Perspective of Wonder: A Tour of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition” (Carol Stream, IL)
Author Cindy Angell Keeling will offer a fascinating introduction to the spectacular Chicago World’s Fair in her presentation “Perspective of Wonder: A Tour of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition” on Tuesday, April 22, 2025, in Carol Stream, Illinois. In this entertaining presentation, Cindy will take you on a tour of the fairgrounds using vintage photographs, maps, and artwork. Which building had the most ostentatious dome? What in the world [...]
The biggest building in the world was at the 1893 Columbian Exposition
How big was the Manufactures and Liberal Arts Building at the 1893 World’s Fair? The MLAB was the largest building in the world and the largest roofed building that had ever erected at that time. The south front of the Manufactures Building at the 1893 World’s Fair. At 787 feet wide, this is the shorter end of the mammoth structure. [Image from Picturesque World’s Fair (W.B. Conkey, 1894); [...]
Apr. 26, 2025: Help clean up Jackson Park (Chicago)
Jackson Park is hallowed ground for 1893 World’s Fair enthusiasts. To honor Earth Day, Friends of the Parks is sponsoring a clean-up day in Jackson Park and other Chicago parks on Saturday, April 26, 2025. This marks the 40th anniversary of Friends of the Parks’ citywide Earth Day cleanups. Whether you love spending time in Jackson Park or have never before visited, we invite you to join us on [...]
Apr. 8, 2025: “Perspective of Wonder: A Tour of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition” (Hinsdale, IL)
Author Cindy Angell Keeling will offer a fascinating introduction to the spectacular Chicago World’s Fair in her presentation “Perspective of Wonder: A Tour of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition” on Tuesday, April 8, 2025, in Hinsdale, Illinois. In this entertaining presentation, Cindy will take you on a tour of the fairgrounds using vintage photographs, maps, and artwork. Which building had the most ostentatious dome? What in the world is [...]
Mar. 27–29, 2025: World’s Fair Women in “The Mammy Project” (Blue Lake, CA)
Nancy Green and Ida B. Wells, two women who played important and diverse roles in the 1893 World’s Fair, are the subject of a performance by Michelle Matlock playing in Blue Lake, CA, on Mar. 27–29, 2025. The Mammy Project, written and performed by Michelle Matlock, unearths the gritty truth behind the century-old icon of Aunt Jemima. This bandanna-wearing superstar of minstrel shows, Hollywood epics, and the breakfast nook [...]
The Myth of Marble: A Roman Statue of “Minerva” at the 1893 World’s Fair
Chicago is abuzz about “Myth and Marble,” a fabulous new exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago running from March 15 to June 29, 2025. On display are fifty-eight magnificent sculptures of gods and goddesses, emperors and funerary monuments. All come from the Torlonia Collection of Rome, one of the world’s finest private collections of Greco-Roman antiquities. The artwork has been out of the public view for most of [...]