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
Apr. 26, 2025: Help clean up Jackson Park (Chicago)
Jackson Park is hallowed ground for 1893 World’s Fair enthusiasts. To honor Earth Day, Friends of the Parks is sponsoring a clean-up day in Jackson Park and other Chicago parks on Saturday, April 26, 2025. This marks the 40th anniversary of Friends of the Parks’ citywide Earth Day cleanups. Whether you love spending time in Jackson Park or have never before visited, we invite you to join us on [...]
Apr. 8, 2025: “Perspective of Wonder: A Tour of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition” (Hinsdale, IL)
Author Cindy Angell Keeling will offer a fascinating introduction to the spectacular Chicago World’s Fair in her presentation “Perspective of Wonder: A Tour of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition” on Tuesday, April 8, 2025, in Hinsdale, Illinois. In this entertaining presentation, Cindy will take you on a tour of the fairgrounds using vintage photographs, maps, and artwork. Which building had the most ostentatious dome? What in the world is [...]
Mar. 27–29, 2025: World’s Fair Women in “The Mammy Project” (Blue Lake, CA)
Nancy Green and Ida B. Wells, two women who played important and diverse roles in the 1893 World’s Fair, are the subject of a performance by Michelle Matlock playing in Blue Lake, CA, on Mar. 27–29, 2025. The Mammy Project, written and performed by Michelle Matlock, unearths the gritty truth behind the century-old icon of Aunt Jemima. This bandanna-wearing superstar of minstrel shows, Hollywood epics, and the breakfast nook [...]
The Myth of Marble: A Roman Statue of “Minerva” at the 1893 World’s Fair
Chicago is abuzz about “Myth and Marble,” a fabulous new exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago running from March 15 to June 29, 2025. On display are fifty-eight magnificent sculptures of gods and goddesses, emperors and funerary monuments. All come from the Torlonia Collection of Rome, one of the world’s finest private collections of Greco-Roman antiquities. The artwork has been out of the public view for most of [...]
Apr. 12, 2025: “Daniel Burnham’s Chicago” (Glen Ellyn, IL)
He was one of Chicago’s greatest architects and served as Director of Works for the 1893 World’s Fair. Daniel Burnham will be portrayed by Terry Lynch in a presentation on April 12, 2025, sponsored by the Glen Ellyn Historical Society. Guests of “Daniel Burnham’s Chicago – A Dramatic Portrayal by Terry Lynch” will experience the grandeur of the Columbian Exposition and learn about its origins, exhibits, and the people [...]
Mar. 22, 2025: “Bertha Honoré Palmer – A Life in Three Acts” (Glen Ellyn, IL)
She was “The Queen of Chicago” and “The Queen of the Fair” in 1893. Bertha Honoré Palmer is the subject of a presentation by historian Laurie Russell on March 22, 2025, sponsored by the Glen Ellyn Historical Society. “Bertha Honore’ Palmer – A Life in Three Acts” will examine her legacy and impact on Chicago and around the world. Vintage photographs will illustrate Bertha Palmer’s life from early childhood, [...]
“Isn’t it hideous?” Cleveland Caricature is a Columbian Claptrap
A flower arrangement made of immortelles (everlastings) at the 1893 World’s Fair intended to depict President Grover Cleveland. The floral display in the Horticultural Building turned heads and turned stomachs. This article in the Chicago Tribune about the “Caricature in Immortelles” included a headline declaring “The Alleged Cleveland Picture in the Horticultural Building an Atrocity.” Under the great dome of the horticultural building, just opposite the main entrance, through [...]
Dyche’s Panorama of North American Mammals at the 1893 World’s Fair
While countless attractions at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition could make a reasonable claim to be the “most interesting” exhibit on the fairgrounds, the article reprinted below awards that honor to the “Exhibit of Large North American Mammals” in the Kansas State Building. Professor Lewis Lindsay Dyche’s unique panorama is one of the few large displays from the 1893 Exposition that remained intact after the close of the Fair. [...]
1893 World’s Fair natural history artifact to be restored
A treasured educational display from the 1893 World’s Fair will be restored, thanks to a $2 million gift. Dyche’s Panorama, formally called the “Exhibit of Large North American Mammals,” was originally displayed inside the Kansas State Building at the Columbian Exposition before finding a permanent home at the University of Kansas. Professor Lewis Lindsay Dyche created the panorama to showcase University’s natural history and taxidermy collection and to “awaken [...]
Bounced from the Beer Garden on the Midway Plaisance
Visitors to the 1893 World’s Fair frequently complained about the behavior of restaurant staff, with claims of their padding the bill of fare to not offering polite service. While venturing into cafes and bars among the various international villages of the Midway Plaisance, guests faced even greater tensions due to language barriers and differences in cultural norms. The Beer Garden in front of the Castle in the German [...]