Devil in the White City is officially dead at Hulu

After more than a decade, the saga of making a screen adaptation of The Devil in the White City has finally reached an end... for now.

EW can confirm that the series is no longer moving forward at Hulu, however, according to sources, producer ABC Signature plans to shop the project to new outlets and is talking to talent, though names were not given.

The news comes months after it was revealed in October that both director Todd Field and star Keanu Reeves had vacated the project, which is also being produced by Paramount TV. At the time, a reason was not given for the departure of either from the project.

Devil in the White City is based on Erik Larson's 2003 book of the same name, and per the logline, 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."

It's an untimely end for the project, which Hollywood has tried to get off the ground for the better part of two decades. In 2019, Hulu's senior vice president of originals, Craig Erwich, first announced that The Devil in the White City would be coming to Hulu as a television series for Paramount TV.

Previously, the story had been in development as a film, with Leonardo DiCaprio, who acquired the rights in 2010, and Martin Scorsese, who joined to direct in 2015, on board. At the time, DiCaprio was set to play the role of the serial killer, Dr. H. H. Holmes. Before this recent bump in the road, Scorsese and DiCaprio were still onboard the series as executive producers, but it was unclear if DiCaprio would play a role beyond that.

And, prior to DiCaprio and Scorsese's attempts to get the project going, Tom Cruise acquired the rights to the nonfiction book in 2003, but his options lapsed in 2004. Paramount reacquired the film rights in 2007.

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