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
Cumberland Gap was passed over for the 1892 World’s Fair
Congressmen filed into the great hall of the U.S. Capitol as the House of Representatives went into session on February 24, 1890. Just after noon, the first order of business was a vote to select a host site for the upcoming World’s Fair, then planned for 1892. Boosters from New York, Chicago, St. Louis, and Washington, D.C., packed the galleries in nervous anticipation. Support in Congress seemed to be [...]
162. Picturesque World’s Fair – On the Short of the North Lagoon
ON THE SHORE OF THE NORTH LAGOON.—There were many charming bits of scenery in the great Exposition grounds, and many novel views which could be enjoyed only from a boat or from points not generally sought by the mass of visitors. One of these views is represented in the accompanying picture, the observer being close to the south shore of the North Lagoon and just east of the strait [...]
1893 World’s Columbian Exposition “Construction Team” clothing
None of the thousands of workers who built the fairgrounds of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition ever got a souvenir insignia apparel, but that doesn't mean you can't! The Walt Disney Birthplace project offers a "World's Columbian Exposition Construction Team" design as a T-shirt, long-sleeve T, and hoodie: Walt Disney's father, Elias Disney, moved his family to Chicago to find work helping to build the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, [...]
Mar. 7, 2024: “Chicago: City of Influence — Amusement Parks” (Chicago and online)
Chicago for Chicagoans is hosting a presentation on the history of Amusement Parks for the next offering in their “Chicago: City of Influence” lecture series. On Thursday, March 7, speaker Sam Prestigiacomo will discuss the 1893 World’s Fair as the birthplace of many inventions and the inspiration for many entertainment entrepreneurs. The lecture can be attended in person at a hidden speakeasy in Lakeview (Shhhh! It’s Room 13 at [...]
Mar. 23, 2024: “The Remarkable Women Who Helped Build Chicago” (Glen Ellyn, IL)
Women such as Bertha Palmer played a pivotal role in building the 1893 World’s Fair … and building Chicago. The Glen Ellyn Historical Society will host presentation by Laurie Russell on “Behind the Stars: The Remarkable Women Who Helped Build Chicago” on Saturday, March 23, 2024. The stars on the Chicago flag represent four major events that changed Chicago forever (Ft. Dearborn Massacre, Chicago Fire, World’s Columbian Exposition, and [...]
Feb. 27, 2024: “Fantastical Dreamscapes: Architectural Wonders and Innovations at World Expos, 1851 to 1911” (Online)
The Farm House Museum at Iowa State University in Ames is hosting an online talk on the architectural designs and building innovations that shaped the first sixty years of international expositions, including the 1893 World's Fair. University of Arizona Professor of Architectural History Lisa D. Schrenk will present "Fantastical Dreamscapes: Architectural Wonders and Innovations at World Expos, 1851 to 1911" on February 27, 2024, from 5- 6 PM (US [...]
Feb.-Oct., 2024: “World’s Fairs, Expositions, & Centennial Celebrations of the Victorian Era” (Ames, IA)
The Farm House Museum at Iowa State University in Ames is hosting an exhibition on “World's Fairs, Expositions, & Centennial Celebrations of the Victorian Era” from February through October, 2024. This exhibition illustrates through objects and narrative the earliest World’s Fair in 1851 London, through several in Paris, and the Centennial and World’s Columbian Exhibitions in the United States. The University Museums’ permanent collection includes several objects that were souvenirs [...]
The most admired and the most criticized of the sculpture at the 1893 World’s Fair
Daniel Chester French’s Statue of the Republic … “was the most admired and the most criticized of the sculpture at the World’s Fair—admired because of its magnificent proportions and criticized by many artists because they claimed to see nothing artistic in a female figure with both arms raised. Its fate as a work of art was sealed when some unkind critic saw in the rear elevation of the figure [...]
Columbian Cocktails at The Meadowlark in Chicago
A secret bar sits along a quiet side street in Chicago’s Logan Square neighborhood, nestled inside an unassuming brick building. Look for the door underneath the small bird cut-out sign and step inside the dimly lit vintage lounge. The menu offers many splendid options for craft cocktail aficionados … and a special treat for Columbian Exposition enthusiasts. Last summer, The Meadowlark launched an 1893 World’s Fair themed menu titled [...]
161. Picturesque World’s Fair – The Golden Door, from the Wooded Island
THE GOLDEN DOOR, FROM THE WOODED ISLAND.— Among the great number of photographs, taken from different points of view, of the famous "Golden Door" it is doubtful if any surpassed in charming effect that from which the accompanying illustration is taken. The point afforded on the Wooded Island seems to have been at just the right distance from the Transportation Building and in just the right direction to allow [...]