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
137. Picturesque World’s Fair – North and West from the Government Building
NORTH AND WEST FROM THE GOVERNMENT BUILDING.—From the dome of the Government Building the prospect north and west afforded as much variety as could be had from any point of observation of the Fair Grounds, since in other directions the view was either much shorter or was cut off by the huge department structures. The illustration shows the Fisheries in the foreground, the details of the south façade of [...]
Feb. 25-Jun. 25, 2022: “Crossings: Mapping American Journeys” (Newberry Library, Chicago)
A map of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition fairgrounds is part of a new exhibit at the Newberry Library in Chicago. Maps, guidebooks, travelogues, postcards, and more from the Library’s collection recreate travelers’ experiences along the northern and southern borders of the US, across the continent’s interior, and up and down the Mississippi River. “Crossings: Mapping American Journeys” includes an enlarged print of the Indexed Guide Map and Key [...]
Apr. 28, 2022: “From Fair to Field: The Field Museum’s Roots in the Columbian Exposition” (Northfield, IL)
Thursday, April 28, 2022, the Winnetka-Northfield Library District will host Mark Alvey, speaking on "From Fair to Field: The Field Museum's Roots in the Columbian Exposition." Mr. Alvey of the Field Museum will present a talk on the origin of the Field Columbian Museum, which opened in June 1894, with approximately 50,000 objexts from the 1893 World's Fair. The event runs from 7-8 PM in the Northfield Library (1785 [...]
Changes Coming to Midway Plaisance
“Passing under the Stony Island viaduct, we are in a new world, which, while it does not pretend to instruct, still conveys quite an amount of real knowledge, though carefully enshrouded in a sugarcoating of amusement.” —“The World's Columbian Exposition, a View from the Ferris Wheel” Scientific American September 9, 1893, pp. 169 70. The Midway Plaisance, a six hundred-foot wide by one-mile-long strip of land connecting Jackson Park [...]
The Girl Who Walked on a Monster’s Belt
“The Fair, considered as an electrical exposition only, would be well worthy the attention of the world.” —Murat Halstead, “Electricity at the Fair” Cosmopolitan, September 1893. A great central power plant inside of Machinery Hall powered most of the incandescent lamps, arc lamps, motors, and water pumps for the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. Capable of delivering more than 12,000 horsepower (9480 kilowatts), this was not only—by far—the largest power [...]
Hulu’s “The Devil in the White City” to be a musical!
Plans for the long-awaited screen adaptation of Erik Larson’s best-selling The Devil in the White City have taken an unusual turn, with the announcement that the paired stories of the 1893 World’s Fair and serial murders will be set to song, with a flock of heavy-hitter musical talent being cast in several lead roles. While the lead role of H. H. Holmes remains unfilled at this time, many sources [...]
Mar 29, 2022: “Daniel Burnham: Make No Little Plans” (Council Bluffs, IA)
Historical dramatist R.J. Lindsey will become Daniel Burnham, Director of Works for the 1893 World's Fair, in a living history program at the Council Bluffs Public Library on March 29, 2022. In "Daniel Burnham: Make No Little Plans," the famed Chicago architect narrates a slide program, including many photographs, detailing the Chicago Fire of 1871, the building of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exhibition, and the Chicago Development Plan of [...]
Mar. 27, 2022: “Sophia Hayden Deserves Better” play reading (Barrington, IL)
In 1891 a brilliant 23-year-old woman won an architecture contest to design the Woman’s Building for the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. What should have been the start to a flourishing career in architecture became career-ending. Throughout the two-year process of building the Woman’s Building, the architect quietly endured bullying, micromanaging, and undermining until she finally spoke up. In a time when women were defined as physically and intellectually [...]
Apr. 14, 2022: “The Fire at the Fair” (Northfield, IL)
Thursday, April 14, 2022, the Winnetka-Northfield Library District will host "Chicago History Cop" Raymond Johnson, speaking on "The Fire at the Fair." Mr. Johnson will present his research on tragic fire at the Cold Storage Building at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition and his surprising discovery at the memorial at Chicago’s Oakwoods Cemetery. The event runs from 7-8 PM in the Northfield Library (1785 Orchard Lane in Northfield, IL) [...]
Apr. 7, 2022: “The Archaeology of Garbage and Consumerism During Chicago’s 1893 World’s Fair” (Winnetka, IL)
Thursday, April 7, 2022, the Winnetka-Northfield Library District will host author and archaeologist Rebecca Graff, speaking on "The Archaeology of Garbage and Consumerism During Chicago's 1893 World's Fair." Prof. Graff will present research from archaeological sites associated with the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. The event runs from 7-8 PM in the Winnetka Library (768 Oak Street in Winnetka, IL) and is free and open to the public. Registration is [...]