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
Oct. 5 – Dec. 28, 2018: “Seeds of Time: Binghamton at the World’s Fair” at the Bundy Museum (Binghamton, NY)
The Bundy Museum of History and Art in Binghamton, New York, has opened a new exhibit titled “Seeds of Time: Binghamton at the World’s Fair” showcasing that city’s involvement with the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago. The museum notes: “The World’s Fair opened the door to the future, and schools and businesses representing Binghamton sent their best work to display. To commemorate the 125th anniversary of the Fair, this [...]
Oct. 6-20, 2018: Chicago a cappella Sings Music of the Columbian Exposition
The vocal group Chicago a cappella will feature some music from the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in a concert titled “Chicago, Chicago with Geoffrey Baer.” The concert includes the patriotic song “America the Beautiful” with music by Samuel Ward and lyrics by Katharine Lee Bates (arr. Deke Sharon). During the summer of 1893, Bates traveled from her home in Boston to Colorado. The English professor and writer was so [...]
Nov. 6, 2018: “Eye of the Beholder: Visitor Experience at 19th-Century World Fairs” at the Newberry Library (Chicago)
The Newberry Library’s Pictures from an Exposition: Visualizing the 1893 World's Fair includes a series of rich programs about the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition. On Tuesday, November 6, 2018, the Newberry will host “Eye of the Beholder: Visitor Experience at 19th-Century World Fairs”. Dr. Ruth Slatter, lecturer in Human Geography at the University of Hull (UK), will focus on the many thousands of visitors who streamed through these exhibition spaces. [...]
PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR – The Santa Maria (p. 66)
PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR. AN ELABORATE COLLECTION OF COLORED VIEWS Page 66 – THE SANTA MARIA THE SANTA MARIA.—The duplicate of the flagship of Columbus, the famous "Santa Maria,” had many thousands of visitors as she lay in Lake Michigan, just in front of the grounds, one of the most interesting of all the Exposition's attractions. The hosts who boarded her and examined her every part, accustomed as they were [...]
Nov. 2, 2018: World Premier of Alex Temple’s “Three Principles of Noir”
Composer Alex Temple [Image from the American Composers Orchestra.] The American Composers Orchestra (ACO) will perform the world premiere a piece having a time-traveling science fiction narrative centered around a Chicago historian who travels back in time to the 1893 World's Fair. The ensemble will perform Alex Temple's Three Principles of Noir with singer Meaghan Burke, on November 2, 2018, at Carnegie Hall in New York. Three Principles [...]
September 2018 Trivia Question
Our monthly newsletter includes a “Palmer Puzzler” exclusive to those who subscribe. (You can sign up here.) The first person to send us the correct answer wins a small prize. The September 2018 Trivia Question To accompany our “Brownies in September” post, here is a trivia question about (the other kind of) brownies at the Fair. One origin story for the delicious chocolate treats is that they were invented [...]
Pictures from “Pictures from an Exposition”
“Pictures from an Exposition: Visualizing the 1893 World’s Fair” has opened at the Newberry Library. “Pictures from an Exposition: Visualizing the 1893 World’s Fair” has opened at the Newberry Library in Chicago. The exhibition of nearly two hundred items from the World’s Columbian Exposition fills two galleries in the Library’s newly renovated main floor. Displays are organized into sections on: • Introduction • Construction • Maps and [...]
Happy National Coffee Day
Happy National Coffee Day from WorldsFairChicago1893.com! An advertisement for Chase & Sanborn's "Seal Brand" coffee, official coffee of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition.
Hopes of the Coming Humanity: Remembering Frances E. Willard
“The world is wide, and I will not waste my life in friction when it could be turned into momentum.” – Frances E. Willard Today marks the anniversary of the birth of Frances E. Willard (September 28, 1839 – February 17, 1898), a member of the Lady Board of Managers of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition and the president of the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union. The profile of this notable [...]
Oct. 28, 2018: “The World’s Columbian Exposition in Music and Story” at Second Presbyterian Church (Chicago)
The historic Second Presbyterian Church in Chicago will celebrate the legacy of the 1893 World’s Fair with an event on October 28, 2018. The date marks the 125th anniversary of the assassination of five-time Chicago mayor Carter H. Harrison, Sr. just days before the scheduled end of the World’s Columbian Exposition. The tragic event sent the city into mourning and the closing ceremonies were replaced by a public memorial [...]