It has been a long road for Devil in the White City. Some might say, a hellish one. The project began life over a decade ago when Leonardo DiCaprio secured rights to Erik Larson’s best-selling book in 2010. And in 2019, it seemed like a Hulu series might actually come to life for the story. In fact, Keanu Reeves was meant to star in The Devil in White City series for a time. But it was still not to be. In 2022, Reeves and Todd Field, the named director of the show, left the production. And having lost Reeves and more, the streamer officially scrapped the series in 2023. The Devil in the White City would not move forward on Hulu and returned to limbo. But now it’s once again showing signs of life. Strap in!
This has been a rough one, to be sure. At the height of its potential, the Hulu take on The Devil in the White City would have had Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese as the executive producers of the series and Keanu Reeves at its center. But even the promise of star power can’t always get a show over the hump. But in 2023, Deadline reported that ABC Signature remains committed to The Devil in the White City series and will look to find it a new home. And now, in 2025, the property is once again showing signs of life
This time around, Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese aren’t just in talks to produce, but DiCaprio is in talks to star and Scorsese in talks to direct. Instead of series, The Devil in the White City will now become a movie. Sources indicate that 20th Century Studios has come onto the project. Will that finally be enough to get The Devil in the White City onto our screens? It may take another ten years to find out.
The logline for the now-canceled adaptation shares more about what we would have seen from The Devil in the White City series has it become a reality. It notes that:
The Devil in the White City tells the true story of Daniel H. Burnham, a demanding but visionary architect who races to make his mark on history with the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, and Dr. H. H. Holmes, America’s first modern serial killer and the man behind the notorious ‘Murder Castle’ built in the Fair’s shadow.
Reeves would have played Burnham before his departure. No casting for Holmes was officially revealed. It’s unclear which of the pair Leonardo DiCaprio intends to play, but maybe it’s not too late to get Keanu Reeves involved again as well. At some point, it seems he intended to play Holmes, so hey, there’s space. We guess we’ll have to wait and see what happens next with this tale. But we can’t help but feel like this production might be a little cursed by the ghosts that surround it.
Originally published May 7, 2023.
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Source: Kiat Media
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