Oscar-winning actor Leonardo DiCaprio and acclaimed director Martin Scorsese are reportedly set to reunite for the long-anticipated film adaptation of Erik Larson’s bestselling book, The Devil in the White City, according to Deadline.
20th Century Studios is said to be in talks with DiCaprio to star and Scorsese to direct the adaptation, marking their reunion on the big screen. The duo is also expected to produce the film alongside Stacey Sher, Rick Yorn, and DiCaprio’s Appian Way partner, Jennifer Davisson.
Currently, there is no script for the project, which is based on Larson’s 2004 nonfiction classic, The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America. The book tells the chilling true story of Dr. H.H. Holmes, a cunning serial killer who is believed to have murdered between 27 and 200 people during the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. The narrative juxtaposes the grandeur and wonder of the fair with Holmes’s sinister activities, including the construction of his infamous “house of horrors.”
According to Deadline, DiCaprio acquired the rights to the book in 2010, and while the project has faced numerous development hurdles, both he and Scorsese have remained committed to bringing the story to life. Sources indicate that all parties involved have aligned with 20th Century Studios to release the film on a theatrical scale following discussions with studio executives.
If finalized, this project will mark another major win for 20th Century Studios, which recently secured the distribution rights for films such as Deliver Me From Nowhere, starring Jeremy Allen White as guitarist Bruce Springsteen, and The Barrier, directed by Edward Berger and featuring Austin Butler.
The production of The Devil in the White City will be overseen by Asbell, Greenbaum, and Sarah Shepard, Senior Vice President of Production at 20th Century Studios, as per Deadline.