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
How Chicago beat New York to get the 1893 World’s Fair
Colleen Connolly’s piece “How Chicago beat New York to get the 1893 World’s Fair” in the May 11 Chicago Tribune provides a short history of Chicago’s effort to win the bid to host the World’s Columbian Exposition. Testimony by Republican Rep. Robert Hitt of Illinois before the House of Representatives in February 1890 argued for holding the event in Chicago, then a city only 53 years old: “The people of [...]
May 20: Auction of original columns from Ceylon Building
Columns from the Ceylon Building [Image from Clars Auction Gallery.] Remnants from an original 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition building come up for auction on May 20, offering a rare opportunity to own a piece of the Fair. Clars Auction Gallery (5644 Telegraph Ave., Oakland, California) will auction a set of hand-carved pillars that were part of the original Ceylon Building on the fairgrounds. Their auction 598 “Art, Furniture, [...]
The First Ticket Sold at the World’s Fair?
The following story about Opening Day of the Columbian Exposition on May 1, 1893, comes from “Sketches and Anecdotes of the Fair” in the June 1893 issue of Current Literature [public domain]. A contrasting story published in the Chicago Daily Tribune reported that the first person on the fairgrounds on Opening Day was a man from Oskaloosa, Iowa. Whether or not the story below is true … it should [...]
July 21, 2018: Devil in the White City Bus Tour
Experience the murder, magic, and madness at the fair that changed America on a 4-hour bus tour offered by the Chicago History Museum on Saturday, July 21, 2018. (A second tour will be offered on August 25, 2018.)Inspired by Erik Larson’s best-selling book, this tour will take you back to 1893 with historian Al Walavich to follow the trails of Daniel Burnham and the devilish doings of H. H. Holmes. Visit the historic [...]
“Hamilton: The Exhibition” Coming to Chicago
125 years after the World’s Columbian Exhibition closed in Chicago, Hamilton: The Exhibition, will open in this city. Broadway World reports that the interactive exhibit, which uses the smash musical Hamilton to tell the story of the American Revolution and the creation of the United States of America, will open in Chicago on November 17, 2018. What comes next is a tour of other U.S. cities. The Chicago Tribune [...]
PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR – The Ferris Wheel (p. 48)
PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR. AN ELABORATE COLLECTION OF COLORED VIEWS Page 48 – THE FERRIS WHEEL THE FERRIS WHEEL.—What the Eiffel Tower was to the Paris Exposition the Ferris Wheel was to the Columbian. Like the Eiffel Tower, it was a triumph of engineering and an example of metal construction on a gigantic scale, but it had the additional feature of activity. It was in motion, a monster plaything, a [...]
Opening Day, addendum: Fate of the Key
Fate of the Key This addendum concludes our series “Opening Day of the World’s Fair,” which explores the events of May 1, 1893, at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. The full series can be found here. “Electric Button” stereoscope card photograph. [Image (colorized) from the New York Public Library Digital Archive.] An advertisement for Kirk’s American Family Soap, showing Director-General Davis, the Duke of Veragua, and [...]
Opening Day, Part 13: The Greatest Crowd
The Greatest Crowd This is Part 13 of our series “Opening Day of the World’s Fair,” which explores the events of May 1, 1893, at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. The full series can be found here. They saw a beautiful sight When the Opening Day ceremonies were over, visitors had time to look around the fairgrounds. They saw a beautiful sight: a forest of great buildings decorated [...]
Opening Day, Part 12: Tour of the Fairgrounds
Tour of the Fairgrounds This is Part 12 of our series “Opening Day of the World’s Fair,” which explores the events of May 1, 1893, at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. The full series can be found here. After the “Banquet of Nations” luncheon, President Cleveland and his entourage embarked on a whirlwind tour of the Columbian Exposition grounds and buildings. They departed from the north entrance of [...]
Opening Day, Part 11: The Banquet of Nations
The Banquet of Nations This is Part 11 of our series “Opening Day of the World’s Fair,” which explores the events of May 1, 1893, at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. The full series can be found here. Pushing the button that launched the great transformation scene to open the 1893 World’s Fair was not the end of the duties of the President of the United States on [...]