Renewing speculations about the possibility of the film adaptation of Erik Larson's non-fiction classic The Devil in the White City, producer Stacey Sher says that the project is still in the works.
In her recent conversation with Deadline, she said that she, Rick Yorn, Jennifer Davisson, and Leonardo DiCaprio are still involved in the project. She went on to say she would never give up on this.
The Devil in the White City follows Dr HH Holmes, a serial killer who is believed to have murdered around 27 to 200 people at a time when the city of Chicago was hosting the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893. It also follows Daniel H Burnham, an architect who is tasked with designing the exposition. Taking a dual approach, the book weaves the optimistic narrative of Burnham with the dark one of Holmes.
Leonardo DiCaprio acquired the rights to the book, which was published in 2003, in 2010. In 2015, DiCaprio pitched it as a feature at Paramount, with him starring and Martin Scorcese directing. Subsequently, in 2019, streamer Hulu expressed interest in making a series out of the book, with Keanu Reeves taking on the role of Dr HH Holmes and Todd Field directing, while DiCaprio and Scorcese first executive producing and later on producing. However, the project was dropped last year as Reeves, Field, and Hulu pulled away from it.
ABC Signature, in association with Paramount Television Studios, is still on the hunt for a new home for this ambitious project.
