The Wizard of Oz Gets an AI Upgrade for the Las Vegas Sphere

Google is bringing “The Wizard of Oz” into the 21st century through a collaboration with the Las Vegas Sphere. On Tuesday, the tech giant announced plans to reimagine the 1939 classic using artificial intelligence and immersive sensory technology.

Set to premiere on Aug. 28, 2025, the project will bring Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Cowardly Lion, Tinman, and Toto into an AI-powered sensory experience in the 17,600-seat theater. Directed by Victor Fleming, “The Wizard of Oz” was celebrated for its pioneering use of Technicolor and practical effects.

“We talked about doing it in different ways,” producer Jane Rosenthal said in a statement. “We realized that we really needed to do it with AI.”

To make “The Wizard of Oz” experience possible, Google collaborated with companies, including Sphere Entertainment, Google DeepMind, spatial computing company Magnopus, and Warner Bros. Discovery to adapt the beloved film for the Sphere’s massive 160,000-square-foot, 16K-resolution LED screen.

Google’s team turned to archived footage, shooting scripts, set photographs, and musical scores, and uploaded them into Google’s generative AI models, Gemini and Veo, which were trained on the material. Google then used Imagen 3 to upscale the film’s resolution, extend backgrounds, and even include characters who originally did not appear on screen.

“With far more source material than just the 102-minute film to work with, the quality of the outputs dramatically improved,” Google said. “Now, Dorothy’s freckles snap into focus and Toto can scamper more seamlessly through more scenes.”

Google has invested heavily in bringing AI tools to its legions of users. In September, Google launched NotebookLM, which lets users create human-sounding podcasts hosted by AI. In March, the company unveiled Gemini 2.0 Flash, which makes it possible to edit photos using only words.

According to Google Cloud, over 90% of the film is AI-enhanced, with The Sphere adding sensory effects like wind, heat, and scent to deepen the experience. From the Tornado that swept Dorothy to Oz to the poppy fields outside of the Emerald City, viewers won’t just watch the movie—they’ll feel it.

The “Wizard of Oz” is the latest high-profile Hollywood film to get an AI treatment. In 2022, the Academy Award-winning “Everything Everywhere All at Once” used generative AI by Runway to enhance parts of the film. In 2024, Robert Zemeckis used AI technology by Metaphysic to de-age Tom Hanks and Robin Wright for the movie “Here.”

“When you have innovation like this, you don’t always know where it’s going to go,” Sphere Entertainment CEO and Entertainment Executive Chairman Jim Dolan said in a statement. “You have to be able to take a leap of faith. What you’re going to see in ‘The Wizard of Oz at Sphere’ is clearly a leap of faith.”

Edited by James Rubin