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
Conrad Seipp Columbia Bock is Back from 1893 World’s Fair
The 1893 World’s Fair bar is stocked with a new brew. Columbia Bock from Chicago-based Conrad Seipp Brewing joins Revolution Brewing’s “Fist City” beer, Temperance Beer Company’s “All the World is Here” beer, Virtue Cider’s Southcider, Journeyman Distillery’s Field Gin, and the long line of Columbian Exposition themed products from Few Spirits. Columbia Bock from Chicago-based Conrad Seipp Brewing. The German-style lager is an attempt to recreate [...]
“Farthest North”: An Arctic Tableau at the 1893 World’s Fair
Crowds gather at the 1893 World's Fair to see a panorama depicting the Greely Expedition to the North Pole. [Image from the Illustrated American World's Fair Special Issue, 1893.] Seventy five years ago today, arctic explorer David L. Brainard (1856–1946) died at Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington D.C. He was the last survivor of the famous Lady Franklin Bay Expedition of 1881–84 under the command of Lieutenant [...]
From Hades to Heaven: Penelope Gleason Knapp’s Visit to the Court of Honor
A visit to the 1893 World’s Fair inspired Penelope Gleason Knapp to pen a romantic and effusive love letter to the wonders of the White City. With Victorian flourish, she describes her rapturous experience in the Court of Honor, “where enchantment reigns supreme.” Her memoir offers a reminder that electric illumination on such a grand scale was an overwhelming experience for many visitors from small towns in America. Penelope [...]
A gem from the 1893 World’s Fair is back on display in New York
A massive block of vibrant blue azurite and green malachite that was first exhibited at the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago is back on display in the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) in New York. Among the approximately 5,000 pieces on display in their new Allison and Roberto Mignone Halls of Gems and Minerals, which reopened on February 17, 2021, is a popular artifact from the Fair that [...]
Pieces of Siam Pavilion from the 1893 World’s Fair Sell for $1,600
Carved wood architectural brackets, reportedly from a Siam exhibit at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. [Image from Fairfield Auction.] A set of fifteen carved architectural brackets, possibly from the Siam Pavilion at the 1893 World’s Fair, sold at auction for $1,600 on Mar 10, 2021. Fairfield Auction offered the interesting lot, described as coming from the Noroton Yacht Club in Darien, CT, which had obtained them “reportedly from [...]
1893 World’s Fair Replicas in Chicago Parks
The Chicago Public Library Blog post "World’s Fair Replicas in Chicago Parks" offers a brief review of four replica sculptures from the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition that can be seen today in various Chicago Parks. These include Daniel Chester French's Statue of the Republic (1918 replica) in Jackson Park, George Wade's Fountain Girl (2012 replica) in Lincoln Park, and Edward Kemey's Prairie King and Sound of the Whoop bison [...]
114. Picturesque World’s Fair – The Norwegian Building
THE NORWEGIAN BUILDING.—Despite their political connection, Norway and Sweden had separate buildings at the World's Fair, each a credit to its country. The Norwegian Building was situated near the lake front and east of the North Pond, amid a group of trees familiar to those who have visited Jackson Park before an Exposition was thought of. In size the building was sixty by twenty-five feet, and was con-structed almost [...]
“American Gods” at the 1893 World’s Fair
“In the summer of 1893 on the shores of Lake Michigan, the United States took its place on the global stage, not through war but through technological innovation ….” The television series American Gods paid a short visit to the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago during Season 3, Episode 5 (“Sister Rising”). The episode opens with an action shot of an elongated coin machine—an unusual but effective historical reference [...]
Mar. 3, 2021: Columbian Exposition Museum Auction
Hundreds of items relating to Christopher Columbus and the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago will hit the auction block on March 3, 2021. The collectibles come from the Christopher Columbus Museum in Columbus, Wisconsin, and include 1893 World's Fair books, tickets, stereoview cards, souvenir coins and ribbons, and an amazing one-of-a-kind, hand-made mechanical model of the Ferris Wheel. The sale will be conducted by Beloit Auction and Realty [...]
113. Picturesque World’s Fair – North Front of the French Building
NORTH FRONT OF THE FRENCH BUILDING.—The French Building at the Exposition consisted, practically, of two parts connected by a semi-circular colonnade. Of these the one to the north, a facade of which appears in the illustration, was the larger and more important. Built in the Renaissance style and richly decorated, it was a beautiful object in its conspicuous position at the junction of the main east and west thoroughfare [...]