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
1893 World’s Fair ends in tragedy
The World's Columbian Exposition closed on October 30, 1893. The Chicago Sun-Times recalls the tragedy that cast a shadow over the planned, but cancelled, closing ceremonies. The full story is available at "World’s Fair ends in tragedy".
128. Picturesque World’s Fair – The Falls of the Columbian Fountain
THE FALLS OF THE COLUMBIAN FOUNTAIN.—Viewed from its front, and at a point not remote, the overflow of the Columbian Fountain afforded the spectacle of one of the most charming of'cataracts. The mass of water tumbled down from level to level in a great foaming semi-circle, until, finally, it plunged into the Grand Basin, a white sheet impress-ive in its beauty. Wider than the famous Falls of Minnehaha, though [...]
Jun. 19, 2021–Jan. 9, 2022: “Chicago: When the Comics Came to Life” (Chicago Cultural Center)
Chicago’s role in the development of the early comic strip is the focus of a temporary exhibit at the Chicago Cultural Center. Curated by artist and author Chris Ware, and Chicago Cultural Historian Emeritus, Tim Samuelson, “Chicago: When the Comics Came to Life” features the works of prominent Chicago artists and publishers from circa 1880 to 1960, with most artifacts coming from the curators’ personal collections. The vibrant and [...]
Oct. 8, 2021: “City on Fire” opens at the Chicago History Museum
Embers of the Great Chicago Fire continue to smolder. Stories of tragedy and triumph from October 8–10, 1871, and the years of rebuilding that followed have been cause for somber remembrance and jubilant celebration throughout the years, including at “Chicago Day” held at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. To commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Fire, the Chicago History Museum has opened a new permanent exhibit, “City on Fire: [...]
127. Picturesque World’s Fair – Eastern Portal of Machinery Hall
EASTERN PORTAL OF MACHINERY HALL.—The view here given is an admirable one of the eastern entrance to Machinery Hall and makes plain the remarkable architectural style of that great edifice. The entrance has been described at length, but only such a view as this, the reproduction of a photograph taken from the Agriculture Building at a point directly across the canal, could bring out the charming details. The portico [...]
“Jennie” survived the Great Chicago Fire and visited the 1893 World’s Fair
The 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition celebrated the twenty-second anniversary of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 with “Chicago Day” on October 9, 1893. With around three-quarter-of-a-million people filling the fairgrounds, it was thought to be the largest peaceful gathering in human history. Among the visitors was one special guest who had survived the Fire due to the dedication her “mother,” ten-year-old Fannie Belle Becker. The article below, from the [...]
126. Picturesque World’s Fair – The Penobscot Indian Camp
THE PENOBSCOT INDIAN CAMP.—To those familiar with the history of the Indians who lived near the Atlantic coast and so came into early contact with the whites, the Penobscot Indian Camp, or Village, was an object of interested study. There were four families of Penobscots, or, as they were once called, "Panawanskeks," and there was also a lodge of Iroquois, peopled by a few of the living representatives of [...]
Sept. 21, 2021: World’s Fair Auction #39 closes
Columbian Exposition collectors may be interested in World’s Fair Auction #39, now open for preview. Online bidding closes at 10:00 PM EST on Tuesday, September 21, 2021. The auction catalog can be viewed at: http://www.worldsfairauction.com/cgi-bin/catalog.cgi. Lots 21 through 71 are items related to the 1893 World’s Fair, and include several products commemorating various building of the White City: a china vase decorated with an image of the Horticultural Building; [...]
125. Picturesque World’s Fair – Arab and Bedouin Horsemen
ARAB AND BEDOUIN HORSEMEN.—Just what the distinction was between Arabs and Bedouins, visitors to the Wild East Show were puzzled to determine. Those of them who had ever paid attention to the terms counted "Arab " as a general description, including all the desert dwellers, and " Bedouin " as something more definite, applying to a single tribe or nation. They left the Wild East Show with just as [...]
“The dearest spot on earth” at the 1893 World’s Fair
What some visitors thought of as exorbitant prices for food and lodging in Chicago during the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition became the stuff of legend. The fanciful tale told below, originally published in the July 2, 1895, Chicago Tribune and reprinted in newspapers across the country, captures one not-so-fond memory of the 1893 World’s Fair. We can only guess to the identity of the restaurant he had patronized. [...]