The Devil in the White City, a Hulu adaptation of the best-selling book by Erik Larson, has lost its star, according to Variety. He was initially cast to play Daniel H. Burnham, one of the two characters in the series. Since 2019, the show has been in development. It will go to series in 2022. Though it still has to locate both of its protagonists, production is scheduled to start in the summer of 2023.
With a 2024 release date in mind, The Devil in the White City’s production will start the following year. Reeves won’t appear in the series, though. The setting of Larson’s work is the construction of the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair. It centres on Burnham, a brilliant architect who must take on the enormous task of designing a spectacle for the fair that would permanently inscribe his name in history. However, Holmes, who is widely regarded as America’s first serial killer and enticed victims into his infamous “Murder Castle” in plain sight of everyone in Chicago, looms over his legacy. The plot develops over the course of four parts that weave together the tales of Burnham and Holmes and how each left their distinct imprint on the area.
Reeves’ exit from the series has not yet received any comments from Hulu or the actor’s agents. He was the only cast member who had been previously announced for the show. The remaining members of the creative team, including DiCaprio, Scorsese, and Shaw, are still in place despite his departure. They are joined by executive producers Rick Yorn, Jennifer Davisson of Appian Way, Stacey Sher, Lila Byock, and Mark Lafferty. Together with Paramount Television Studios, ABC Signature is producing.
A significant Hulu production, The Devil in the White City, has been taking shape for some time. The actual book is a great work of historical nonfiction that was a New York Times bestseller and won numerous awards, including the Edgar Award for Best Fact Crime. Sam Shaw is penning and serving as showrunner for the production, which also has executive producers Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese connected. There were many reasons to be excited going into the project because it was a passion project for both DiCaprio and Scorsese that began years before it was picked up by Hulu and turned into a series. In addition, there was the possibility that Keanu Reeves would defy career expectations by acting in a television series.