I Still Want The Devil In The White City To Be Adapted, But I'm Not Happy About The Plan

When it comes to many books, I'm late to the party. It's a hazard of having an ever-growing TBR and only so many hours in the day. But I do get to the ones I really want to read, which includes Erik Larson's The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America. As a fan of some of Larson's other books, and having heard great things about this 2003 non-fiction account of the development of the 1893 World's Fair and H.H. Holmes' murder spree in Chicago, I knew this was going to be a good one, and I wasn't disappointed. Naturally, upon finishing the riveting tale, I was curious about the status of the book-to-screen adaptation, and here's the thing: as glad as I am that there are still plans to bring it to the screen, I really don't think it should be a movie.

As mentioned, the book covers two stories taking place at the same time, in the same place. It's as much about how the 1893 Chicago World's Fair (also known as the World's Columbian Exposition) came to be as it is about Holmes carrying out his murderous acts and various fraudulent activities. Before I get into why I really think TV–probably a limited series–is the way to go with this adaptation, let me break down the timeline highlights for this adaptation, because it's been literal years.

Key Bullet Points in the Devil in the White City Adaptation Timeline

• November 2010 (per THR): It's announced that Leonardo DiCaprio would star in and produce a film adaptation of The Devil in the White City.
• December 2011 (per Deadline): Warner Bros. Acquired the rights to the adaptation with DiCaprio to star and The Imitation Game's Graham Moore to pen the script for the movie.
• August 2015: Paramount Pictures nabbed the rights to the adaptation after Warner Bros. reportedly let them lapse (per Deadline). It's at this point that Martin Scorsese comes into the picture as director, with DiCaprio still set to star as H.H. Holmes. In December of 2016, Scorsese was quoted as saying that a script was in the works.
• February 2019: Scorsese and DiCaprio's adaptation was being developed as a series at Hulu, with Paramount Television set to produce.
• August 2022: Hulu reportedly ordered the adaptation to series with Keanu Reeves lined up to star as Daniel Burnham (the architect organizing the World's Fair). Sam Shaw was reported to be penning the adaptation and serving as showrunner and EP.
• October 2022: Reeves exited the Hulu series, and Todd Field was no longer lined up to direct.
• January 2025: A new report stated that the adaptation had moved to 20th Century, and that Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio were in talks for a film adaptation. As of this report, there wasn't a script for the movie.

As you can see, there've been quite a few ups and downs with the adaptation, including a switch from movie to series, then back to movie -- its current status. Far be it from me to complain about DiCaprio and Scorsese teaming up for another movie. If this gets made as it's presently expected to be made, I'm going to see it, even if it's 3+ hours long. But I really can't get past how much potential this story has as a limited series, and I'm far less optimistic that a movie can do the full story justice.

My Concerns About A Movie Adaptation

The main concern I have with a movie adaptation is that, even if it had a longer-than-average run-time, I worry that there won't be enough time to really dive into the fair side of the story, or more to the point, that the movie will give more screen time to Holmes' scheming and murders, while the World's Fair will be more of a background story.

There’s more character story to dive into on the former, so I’d understand it being the focus if that were to be the plan. And, don't get me wrong, I can see why many people might prefer Holmes' story to be at the forefront of the adaptation. But reading the book, I found myself really caught up in the hugeness of the World's Fair, the people who attended, the attractions that were on display, and all of the challenges it took to get the whole thing up and running.

With his research and telling, Larson really painted a picture of the city of Chicago and this massive event during this particular time period in U.S. history, which I think enhanced my appreciation of the way he told Holmes’ story. There's also the story involving the mayor's assassination near the end of the fair and the impact that had on the city, which is relevant and would need to be included.

There Are So Many Details A TV Show Could Showcase

There are things I would hate to see rushed, or worse, cut out completely for a movie. I can see a series covering the story of the fair, from the very start to the tragic conclusion, and weaving Holmes' story throughout each episode so that we're able to get the full picture of what happened and how impactful it all was.

It's entirely possible that a movie can achieve this, but I think about how great it would be to wait for each new episode, anticipating guest stars playing notable fair attendees like Archduke Franz Ferdinand, Helen Keller, and George Washington Gale Ferris Jr. (who built the Ferris wheel), and what new inventions and foods might be featured (Juicy Fruit gum! Pabst Blue Ribbon!).

Millions of people attended this fair over the months of its run. I just hope whatever adaptation is made can capture this event as more than just the backdrop to Holmes' story. If there's room for both stories to play out as they do in the book, I think this adaptation could be amazing. It's hard for me to see it working as a movie, but as I said, if Scorsese makes it, I’ll absolutely see it -- and at this point, given how long it's taking to bring the tale to the screen, I just hope it gets made -- but I'd love it if the next update told us this was back in development as a series.