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
Literary Tributes to the World’s Fair
Reprinted below are ten “Literary Tributes to the World’s Fair” from the October 1893 issue of The Dial, a literary magazine published in Chicago. The notable contributors are: Mary Hartwell Catherwood (1847—1902), Midwest author of popular historical romances, short stories, and poetry; Charles Dudley Warner (1829–1900), essayist and novelist best remembered as the co-author with Mark Twain of The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today (1873); George W. Cable [...]
Season’s Readings: 2023 Books about the World’s Columbian Exposition
This has been a year of rich and valuable additions to the Columbian Exposition bookshelf. Summarized below are important new nonfiction works that explore connections between the Chicago fair and Western Pennsylvania, Lebanon, England, and Massachusetts. Two others look at the religious and spiritual legacy of the Columbian Exposition. New fictional works explore the fairgrounds though the eyes of visitors in both realistic stories and magical adventures. We also [...]
2023 Columbian Exposition Gift Guide
If you are shopping for a gift to give a Columbian Exposition enthusiast or just want to treat yourself to a little something during the holiday season, check on these products relating to the 1893 World’s Fair. Note: We provide this announcement of new products without any compensation from vendors. Prices and availability subject to change. We already reported on a fun new World’s Fair board game, Chicago 1893: [...]
“After the Ball” entertains and enrages at the 1893 World’s Fair
One song served as the (unofficial) anthem of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. More popular than “Ta-ra-ra Boom-de-ay,” more often sung than “America,” and more frequently parodied than “Daddy Wouldn’t Buy Me a Bow Wow,” this tune could be heard—for better or for worse—throughout the fairgrounds all summer. Groups ranging from John Philip Sousa’s band to the marimba quartet at the Guatemala Building to the donkey boys on the [...]
Build your own World’s Fair host city with “Chicago 1893: The City Beautiful” tile game
The Great Chicago Fire of October 1871 has burned a four-mile-long scar across the heart of the city. It’s time to rebuild the city as Chicago plans to host the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. Reach your hands into the bag and select your next tile to create your unique vision of Chicago … before your opponents upset those plans. Chicago 1893: The City Beautiful is a new tile game from [...]
Andrew Carnegie’s Eulogy for the 1893 World’s Fair
Rags-to-riches immigrant, Gilded Age capitalist, and steel magnate Andrew Carnegie (1835–1919) built bridges and skyscrapers that still stand today. His amassed wealth and radical philanthropy built institutions that should stand even longer—museums and a college for Pittsburgh, a music hall for New York, and thousands of libraries around the world. Carnegie was well on his way in 1892 to becoming the richest man in the world when union-busting efforts [...]
The White City Wish Book: Toys and Holiday Gifts from the 1893 World’s Fair
What holiday gift would you have wished for? In the years following the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, children could have received any number of fair-themed toys and games. Shown below are some examples advertised in the Montgomery Ward Catalogue & Buyer's Guide for 1895, the Carl P. Stirn Catalog of 1893, and various newspapers of the era. Which items would you have circled in the White City Wishbook? Views [...]
A Columbian Exposition Enthusiast’s Guide to HBO’s “The Gilded Age”
Viewers of The Gilded Age on HBO Max meet several real historical figures mingling with a cast of colorful fictional characters. Although the series takes place in 1882–83, ten years before the Columbian Exposition will open in Chicago, The Gilded Age features several of the designers, participants, and visitors associated with the 1893 World’s Fair. [This post will be updated as new episodes are released.] Jane Addams Social activist [...]
Sweet Treats Born at the 1893 World’s Fair
WTTW’s Chicago Stories series has a new episode titled “Candy Capital” that includes a segment about the sweet treats born at the 1893 World’s Fair. The profile discusses Milton Hershey, Frederick and Louis Rueckheim's precursor to Cracker Jack, Bertha Palmer's brownies, and more. The reversed shot of the Court of Honor (shown above) was a little strange, though. If you have recovered from your Halloween candy pile, check out [...]
Dec. 2-27, 2023: Joffrey Ballet’s “Columbian Nutcracker” (Chicago)
A festive Ferris Wheel, a Dream City, a flurry of snow, dancing dragons, dancing nuts, and dancing rats! It's that time of the year for Chicago’s Joffrey Ballet to stage their spectacular annual production of The Nutcracker, with story set on the fairgrounds of 1893 World's Columbian Exposition. Performances run from December 2-7, 2023, at the Lyric Opera House (20 N. Wacker Dr. in Chicago) This ballet by choreographer [...]