20th Century has resumed work on the adaptation of Erik Larson’s bestseller “Devil in the White City” — Martin Scorsese has retained the director’s chair, and Leonardo DiCaprio will play the lead role.
“Devil in the White City” is a crime drama based on real events. The book was written and released by Erik Larson in 2004.
DiCaprio bought the rights to adapt the book back in 2010 and hoped to make a feature film, inviting director Martin Scorsese. However, by 2019 the project was turned into a miniseries by Hulu, while the direction went to Todd Field, and the lead role was assigned to Keanu Reeves. In 2023, both withdrew from the project, and streaming announced the cancellation of the project.
According to Deadline, 20th Century has now resumed work on the adaptation with Scorsese and DiCaprio “on board”. There is no script yet (although Billy Ray offered his draft back in the 2010s), nor even a tentative release date.
“Devil in the White City” tells the story of Dr. Henry Holmes, a serial maniac who is believed to have killed from 27 to 200 people during the time when the World’s Columbian Exposition was held in Chicago in 1893. Larson wrote the book, recreating the contrasts between the expectations of the exhibition participants (adding architect Daniel Burnham to the center of the plot) and Holmes’s dark deeds.
Currently, it is unknown which specific role DiCaprio has taken on, but initially, he planned to play Holmes.
The numerous collaborations between the duo DiCaprio and Scorsese include “Gangs of New York”, “The Aviator”, “The Departed”, “The Wolf of Wall Street”, and the recent “Killers of the Flower Moon”.
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