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
PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR – The Krupp Gun (p. 37)
PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR. AN ELABORATE COLLECTION OF COLORED VIEWS Page 37 – THE KRUPP GUN KRUPP GUN EXHIBIT AND LEATHER AND SHOE TRADES BUILDING.—The building in which was the famous Krupp Gun exhibit and that devoted to the Leather and Shoe Trade displays were situated together on the lake front, in the southeastern part of the Exposition grounds, and both appear in the above Illustration. The big gun shown in [...]
PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR – The Hunt Ball (p. 36)
PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR. AN ELABORATE COLLECTION OF COLORED VIEWS Page 36 – THE HUNT BALL "THE HUNT BALL. "—Among the hundreds of magnificent paintings exhibited in the Art Palace, the work of artists widely renowned in their special fields, certain pictures had always a throng about them from morning until mght. Among these was one, which, from its intrinsic merit, even beyond its size and brilliant coloring, attracted a continuous [...]
April 25, 2018 (Reno, NV): 1893 World’s Mini-Fair at the National Automobile Museum
The 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition is coming to Reno, Nevada, for three days in April. The National Automobile Museum, is holding its 14th annual History Symposium on April 25, 26, and 28, with a theme of “The 1890s: Peril and Power.” The Museum will host national and local authors and historians who will address the winds of change that marked the 1890s. A special highlight of this year’s symposium [...]
In Like a Lion
The month of March, the saying goes, comes “in like a lion, out like a lamb.” Lions—both real and plaster—could be found at several locations around the grounds of the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893. One example is Lions by German sculptor M. Arthur Waagen. This set of four lion sculptures adorned the base of the obelisk, which stood in the center of the Colonnade in the South Canal, [...]
PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR – The Fisheries Building (p. 35)
PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR. AN ELABORATE COLLECTION OF COLORED VIEWS Page 35 – THE FISHERIES BUILDING THE FISHERIES BUILDING.—Quite unlike any other structure on the grounds, yet so situated and so constructed as to blend with the harmonious whole of the Exposition, the Fisheries Building afforded a striking example of an obstacle overcome by architectural genius. The space allotted to the Fisheries was irregular in form, and in what was considered an [...]
March 16, 2018: 1893 Scavenger Hunt in the Chicago Loop
If you love learning about the history of the 1893 World’s Fair, are passionate about Chicago architecture, enjoy puzzles, and want to stretch your legs, then don’t miss out on “Glitz, Glamour…and Panic! A Hunt for the History of 1893 in Chicago.” Atlas Obscura Chicago Field Agent Patti Swanson is once again hosting her "Google-proof" scavenger hunt in the Chicago Loop on Friday, March 16, 2018. You will meet [...]
May 29, 2018: Chicago History Museum Celebrates the 1893 Fair
"The Ferris Wheel Waltz-Polka" sheet music. [Image from Johns Hopkins University.] To celebrate the 125th anniversary of the World’s Columbian Exposition, the Chicago History Museum (CHM) is hosting a talk by Donald C. Meyer, Professor of Music at Lake Forest College, on May 29 at the museum. Prof. Meyer’s digitization project to preserve sheet music associated with the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago includes an online archive of [...]
Souvenir Music from the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893
March, waltz, polka, and hoochie koochie your way back to the 1893 World’s Fair with Souvenir Music from the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893, a new recording of vintage sheet music from Lake Forest College Press. Donald C. Meyer, Professor of Music at Lake Forest College, has assembled a fascinating collection of 18 pieces of music written for or about the Columbian Exposition. A trio of musicians (pianist Chris [...]
PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR – The Massachusetts Building (p. 35)
PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR. AN ELABORATE COLLECTION OF COLORED VIEWS Page 35 - THE MASSACHUSETTS BUILDING THE MASSACHUSETTS BUILDING.—Typical of the history and character of the Old Bay State was the Massachusetts Building, which stood just east of New York on the broad roadway leading east from the Fifty-seventh street entrance to the grounds. It was in the old Colonial style and, as nearly as was practicable, a duplicate of the [...]
Happy Birthday to Architect Robert Peabody
Today we celebrate the anniversary of the birth of Robert Swain Peabody on February 22, 1845. Peabody was a cofounder of the Boston architectural firm of Peabody & Stearns, designer of Machinery Hall (also known as the Palace of Mechanical Arts) and the Massachusetts Pavilion for the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago. Architects invited by Daniel Burnham to contribute building for the World's Columbian Exposition gathered in Chicago on [...]