After a few years spent in cinematic development, the adaptation of Erik Larson's excellent blend of reality and fiction, The Devil In The White City is taking a side step and will now head towards small screens via Hulu.
Martin Scorsese (who was attached to direct and produce) and Leonardo DiCaprio (originally on to star and produce) are still involved, though the announcement only currently lists them as executive producers, though they may still take more active roles if they like what the show becomes.
Larson’s scrupulously researched and endlessly compelling tome chronicles real-life serial killer Dr H. H. Holmes, who might not have gained the infamy of Jack the Ripper, but is alleged to have killed a slew of people around the time of the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago. A weird and charismatic, if ghoulish figure, it’s easy to see why Holmes would appeal to the pair, who originally won the rights to the book in 2010. Since then, it has bounced from Warner Bros. to Paramount, but never quite escaped the development halls.
While the slow progress of the movie has been frustrating, a miniseries might actually be a better fit for the complicated tale, which also chronicles the work of Daniel H. Burnham, a brilliant and fastidious architect racing to mark his mark on the world. We'll have to wait and see if it actually makes it to screens at last.
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