Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese‘s Devil in the White City adaptation is now a movie that will be released in theaters through 20th Century Studios. The project has been in development since 2019 and was previously in the works as a TV show at Hulu until the streaming service’s exit in 2023. DiCaprio and Scorsese are now in talks to headline and direct the movie, respectively, as well as serving as producers.
20th Century Studios to release Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese’s next movie, Devil in the White City
20th Century Studios will release Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese’s next collaboration, the Devil In The White City movie, in theaters. Deadline cited sources to report that DiCaprio will star in the feature and Martin Scorsese will direct it. They were previously attached to the adaptation only as producers.
The movie will adapt Erik Larson’s The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America, a historical non-fiction book composed in the style of a novel. The narrative takes place in the late 1800s and follows two individuals: Daniel Burnham and H. H. Holmes. The former was a prominent architect who served as the Director of Works for the 1892–93 World’s Columbian Exposition or the Chicago World Fair, alternatively known as The White City. The latter was a con artist and serial killer, who committed some of his most heinous crimes during the same fair.
According to the sources cited by Deadline, the movie doesn’t yet have a script. It was initially reported in February 2019 that DiCaprio and Scorsese would serve as executive producers on a series adaptation of The Devil in the White City for Hulu. The project faced multiple issues over the years. In 2022, Keanu Reeves and director Todd Field left the show. Jeremy Allen White and Jude Law were being eyed to star in the series, and Matt Ross was in consideration to direct before Hulu left the project. However, in August 2024, producer Stacey Sher revealed that she was still a part of its development. Now, the project has found a new home at another Disney-owned company as a feature-length film.
