Hulu’s “Devil In The White City” was put into production back in 2019, and it was officially ordered to series at the streaming service in August 2022. Keanu Reeves, who was cast as Daniel H. Burnham in the show, has left the project.
Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio are some of the industry heavyweights responsible for producing the series. It’s based on Erik Larson’s book of the same name. DiCaprio bought the rights to it in 2010, intending to turn it into a film in which he would play Dr. H. H. Holmes. Scorsese signed aboard to direct in 2015, with Billy Ray penning the script.
Variety reports, Reeves has left the project, and Hulu is now looking for a replacement to fill his shoes. This would have been Reeves’ first major role on television. Though, it seems that the actor has other interests.
Throughout the last decade, the project has gone through numerous stages of development. It was initially put in development in Hollywood by Tom Cruise and Paula Wagner under Cruise/Wagner label through their Paramount deal. However, the option expired in 2004.
The official synopsis reads. “The Devil In The White City tells the true story of two men, an architect and a serial killer, whose fates were forever linked by The Chicago World’s Fair of 1893. It follows Daniel H. Burnham, a brilliant and fastidious architect racing to make his mark on the world and Henry H. Holmes, a handsome and cunning doctor who fashioned his own pharmaceutical ‘Murder Castle’ on fair grounds – a palace built to seduce, torture and mutilate young women. The story takes the viewer on a tour of murder, romance and mystery in the gilded age.”
Representatives for both the actor and Hulu declined to comment on Reeves’ departure. The actor, however, doesn’t seem to slow down. (https://www.thisnation.com/) He is involved in a couple of upcoming projects, one of them being John Wick: Chapter 4.
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