The Devil in the White City on Hulu has taken another knock. According to a report by Variety, the movie’s director and executive producer, Todd Field, has left the project, and a hunt for a replacement director has already begun. It’s the second setback for the project in as many weeks. The departure of Keanu Reeves, who was set to play one of the two main characters in the series, Daniel H. Burnham, was announced on October 7. The Devil in the White City is based on a true story and, according to the official synopsis, “tells the true story of Daniel H. Burnham, a demanding but visionary architect who races to make his mark on history with the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, and Dr H. H. Holmes, America’s first modern serial killer and the man behind the notorious ‘Murder Castle’ built in the Fair’s shadow.”
The show is adapted from a novel written by Erik Larson. Although work on the project didn’t begin until 2019, Hulu didn’t order the series until 2022. We still want to start filming in the summer of 2023, but we haven’t been able to get a director or star yet.
Field’s most recent film, TR, starring Cate Blanchett, was written and directed by him. At the 2022 Venice Picture Festival, that film premiered to critical acclaim. One of Blanchett’s “all-time finest performances,” “astonishing,” and “a master class in acting” are all words used by Formo to describe her performance. On top of Stacey Sher, Sam Shaw, and Mark Lafferty, the series’ executive producers include Martin Scorsese, Rick Yorn, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Jennifer Davisson of Appian Way.
ABC Signature and Paramount Television Studios are producing the project, with Shaw adapting the book and serving as showrunner. In 2010, DiCaprio bought the rights to the novel with the intention of making a movie in which he would play Holmes. In 2015, Scorsese joined the project as director, working with Billy Ray, who had signed on to write the film. Tom Cruise and Paula Wagner’s Cruise/Wagner production business and their arrangement with Paramount got the project rolling in Hollywood. Still, the option expired in 2004, and Paramount only reacquired the picture rights in 2007. As it works toward its 2023 debut, The Devil in the White City continues to get praise.