“Devil in the White City” director and executive producer Todd Field has exited the Hulu series, just days after star Keanu Reeves departed, TheWrap has learned. The project hails from EPs Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio.
The long-gestating project was set to mark “The Matrix” star’s first major television role, as the infamous Dr. H. H. Holmes, considered to be the first modern American serial killer. Based on the bestseller by Erik Larson, “Devil in the White City” tells the story of Daniel H. Burnham, a demanding but visionary architect who races to make his mark on history with the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, and Holmes’ involvement in the Fair’s notorious “Murder Castle.”
The “TÁR” director was set to helm the show’s first two episodes, with Sam Shaw (“Castle Rock”) serving as writer and showrunner. Along with Scorsese and DiCaprio, Rick Yorn, Jennder Davisson (through DiCaprio’s Appian Way), Stacey Sher, Mark Lafferty, Lila Byock, Shaw and Field all executive produce. Paramount Television Studios produces alongside ABC Signature.
An adaptation of the 2003 true-crime novel has been in the works for some time: DiCaprio was first reported to play the role of Holmes back in 2010 after Appian Way acquired the rights to Larson’s non-fiction novel, “The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic and Madness at the Fair That Changed America,” with Scorsese directing. After bouncing around several studios including Warner Bros. and Paramount, it landed at Hulu in 2019 with DiCaprio and Scorsese moving to EP roles and got a series greenlight this August.
Hulu declined to comment on the matter.
Variety first reported the news.
