Devil in the White City is finally set to come to Hulu, after over a decade in development.
The Erik Larson book about the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition and its link to the first modern serial killer had its rights purchased by Leonardo DiCaprio in 2010. At the time, the plan was to make a film of the story, with Martin Scorsese directing and DiCaprio starring.
The Hulu version, however, will be a mini-series, with Keanu Reeves in a main role. Alongside the news that Reeves was joining the cast, we learned some new details about the project's release date and plot.
Here's what we know about the upcoming adaptation of Devil in the White City.
When Is Devil in the White City Coming Out?
Hulu hasn't given an exact release date just yet, but it has revealed that it's looking at 2024.
Filming on the miniseries, meanwhile, is set to begin in 2023. With filming wrapped on Reeves' John Wick 4 and the fifth instalment in pre-production (per IMDB), it seems likely that Devil in the White City will start shooting once that sequel is finished.
Who Is in the Cast?
So far, Reeves is the only cast member announced on the project. It would mark his first U.S. TV role since the short-lived Bill and Ted animated show in 1990 (though he did star in Swedish series Swedish Dicks in 2014).
He won't be playing serial killer H.H. Holmes, but fair architect Daniel H. Burnham. Speculation began on Reeves casting when Deadline reported in January that he was in talks to star in the project.
Prior to that, there were rumors that the producers were eying Robert Pattinson for a role, but that remains unconfirmed.
Though the casting of Holmes hasn't been announced yet, we do know some of the behind-the-scenes talent involved. Scorsese and DiCaprio stay on as executive producers, while directing duties will be taken by Todd Field, the three-time Oscar nominee behind In the Bedroom and Little Children.
Before Devil in the White City comes out, Field will release his first movie in over 15 years, Tár, which stars Cate Blanchett as the first-ever female chief conductor of a major German orchestra.
What Is Devil in the White City About?
The official synopsis for the book reads: "One was an architect. The other a serial killer. This is the incredible story of these two men and their realization of the Chicago World's Fair of 1893, and its amazing 'White City'; one of the wonders of the world.
"The architect was Daniel H. Burnham, the driving force behind the White City, the massive, visionary landscape of white buildings set in a wonderland of canals and gardens.
"The killer was H. H. Holmes, a handsome doctor with striking blue eyes. He used the attraction of the great fair - and his own devilish charms - to lure scores of young women to their deaths.
"While Burnham overcame politics, infighting, personality clashes and Chicago's infamous weather to transform the swamps of Jackson Park into the greatest show on Earth, Holmes built his own edifice just west of the fairground. He called it the World's Fair Hotel.
"In reality it was a torture palace, a gas chamber, a crematorium.
"These two disparate but driven men are brought to life in this mesmerizing, murderous tale of the legendary Fair that transformed America and set it on course for the twentieth century."
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
