'The Devil In The White City' Adaptation Cancelled At Hulu [News]
The TV adaptation of The Devil in the White City, by Erik Larson, was reportedly axed by Hulu, per The Hollywood Reporter. However, sources do say that ABC Signature remains committed to the drama, and is still shopping the show around. Sources also say that Hulu, Paramount Television Studios, and Disney’s ABC Signature had been in talks with The Bear star Jeremy Allen White and Jude Law and director Matt Ross for the project. They are reportedly still in talks with ABC Signature, but nothing is confirmed since the show doesn't currently have a home.
The news comes months after leading man Keanu Reeves and director Todd Field dropped out of the Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio drama. The Devil in the White City has been in development for over 10 years, and at one point, the plan was to turn it into a feature film, with Castle Rock's Sam Shaw as writer, showrunner, and exec producer, DiCaprio and Jennifer Davisson (his Appian Way partner), would executive produce alongside Scorsese. It was also previously set up at Paramount Pictures with DiCaprio set to star. Other executive producers include Rick Yorn, Stacey Sher, and Mark Lafferty.
When the series was acquired by Hulu in 2019, Reeves was attached to star and executive produce, with Field directing. The Tár director left three days after Reeves exited the production. The Devil in the White City followed Daniel H. Burnham (who would have been played by Reeves), 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.
Scorsese and DiCaprio have previously worked together on Gangs of New York, The Aviator, The Departed, Shutter Island, and The Wolf of Wall Street. They had also attempted to make TV adaptations of Gangs of New York and Shutter Island, but they fell through around the script phase. DiCaprio has a film and TV deal at Apple, where he exec produced their series Shining Girls.
