DiCaprio's Next Role: Man Who Killed at Least 27

Leonardo DiCaprio will play to his dark side for a new role as "the 19th century equivalent of Hannibal Lecter," reports Deadline. He'll play serial killer HH Holmes in the film adaptation of Erik Larson's 2003 book, The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, And Madness At The Fair That Changed America, which will be directed by Martin Scorsese for Paramount.

The book follows Holmes' killing of at least 27 people (mainly women) around the time of the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago—though he had as many as 200 victims—combined with the story of fair architect Daniel Burnham, Variety reports. The film has been in the works for more than a decade. (Read about a possible "good guy" role for DiCaprio.)