The Devil in the White City: everything we know about true crime drama

The story of one of America's first serial killers has been trying to make its way to screens for a long time, to no avail. But an adaptation of The Devil in the White City is picking up steam again, with Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese behind it.

A project based on the best-selling non-fiction book from Erik Larson, The Devil in the White City has been in the works for years, dating as far back as 2010 when DiCaprio optioned the rights with the hope to turn it into a movie with him as the star and Scorsese directing. More recently it was set to become a TV series, but that fell apart. Can this latest attempt at the true-crime drama be the one to succeed?

Here is everything that we know about The Devil in the White City.

The Devil in the White City release date

There is no release date for The Devil in the White City at this time. The fact that a movie adaptation is in the works at all only came about on January 22, 2025, as Deadline reported that DiCaprio and Scorsese have begun working with 20th Century Studios on the project.

There's no word if this is going to be the next project for Scorsese and/or DiCaprio, as the two have a number of things in the fire.

Devil in the White City plot

Devil in the White City tells two parallel stories of men who would leave their mark on history at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair. The first is Daniel H. Burnham, an architect who was the driving force behind the planning of the World’s Fair, which included displays of the lightbulb and the Ferris Wheel for the first time. The other is Dr. H. H. Holmes, who is regarded as America's first modern serial killer.

Erik Larson wrote the Devil in the White City best-selling book.

Devil in the White City cast

In addition to serving as a producer on the project, reports say that DiCaprio is also in talks to star. But which of the two main roles that he would be looking to play is unclear.

Keanu Reeves had previously been attached to the project when it was announced as a TV adaptation, but there is no indication at this time if he would become involved again.

Devil in the White City director

The same Deadline report says that Scorsese is in talks to direct The Devil in the White City. If this comes to pass, it would be the seventh movie that Scorsese has worked on with DiCaprio, the most recent of which was Killers of the Flower Moon.

Devil in the White City trailer

With all the turmoil going on with the show in pre-production, we're far away from a trailer coming out. But if/when that or any other news about Devil in the White City is shared we will update this post.