The long-gestating adaptation of Erik Larson’s The Devil in the White City is finally making some strides. Per Deadline, it has been announced that Keanu Reeves will star in the project after Hulu hands out a straight-to-series order.
The Devil in the White City tells the story of Daniel H. Burnham, a visionary architect who sets out to mark history with the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, and Dr. H. Holmes, America’s first modern serial killer and the man behind the notorious “Murder Castle” that was built in the shadow of the Fair.
Reeves has been in talks for the project since at least January, and it will mark his first major U.S. TV role. This project has been in various stages of development since Leonardo DiCaprio bought the film rights to the book in 2010. It was initially set up as a feature film at Paramount with Martin Scorsese on board to direct, but by 2019, Hulu announced that it was developing the adaptation as a big-budget series with DiCaprio and Scorsese serving as executive producers. The series will come from ABC Signature in Association with Paramount Television Studios, while Sam Shaw serves as an executive producer, writer, and showrunner on the project, with Todd Field set to direct.
I remember when it was announced that DiCaprio bought the rights to The Devil in the White City, and I thought it would be an intriguing project for him and Scorsese to take on. Shifting it to a series via Hulu does seem like a nice route to take because it allows more long-term development of the story, and this could be an excellent project to see Reeves flex some of his creative muscles a bit, especially depending on who he decides to play in the story.
Are YOU excited that Keanu Reeves is attached to The Devil in the White City?