By Kayla DeKraker
THE WIZARD OF OZ is coming to Las Vegas’ Sphere later this year, and AI is making it possible.
The immersive attraction arrives at the Sphere on Aug. 28, and those working on the project predict it will stir some controversy.
“The fan reaction will likely split into two distinct camps,” Michael Walker, CEO of AI-First at Trilogy, told Fox News Digital. “Film purists will object — and they have valid concerns about artistic integrity. The original work represents specific creative choices by directors, cinematographers and set designers who worked within the constraints of their era. Expanding and reimagining with AI creates something fundamentally different from their vision.”
He added that others might appreciate the new technology.
“On the other hand, this represents an exciting new way to connect classic films with audiences who increasingly expect immersive experiences,” he added. “The technology could breathe new life into works that might otherwise fade from cultural relevance.”
Google used AI Gemini model Veo 2 to create the new picture, but it wasn’t without challenges. Because the shape of the Sphere, some characters are stretched out or excluded, a challenge that the team had to navigate.
“Very, very, very big and very, very difficult,” Steven Hickson, director for AI foundation research at Google DeepMind, said of the project. He continued, “There are scenes where the scarecrow’s nose is like 10 pixels. That’s a big technological challenge.”
Variety reported that the project required using Veo 2 and Imagen 3 to enhance “the film’s resolution, as well as to expand backgrounds to fill the screen and digitally recreate existing characters who would otherwise not appear on the same screen.”
“You only have one movie for us to train this model on. And then some of these characters don’t appear a lot,” global head of generative AI engineering at Google Cloud Ravi Rajamani explained.
Over 90% of the classic 1939 film was edited by AI for this endeavor. The synopsis of the beloved classic reads, “Young Dorothy Gale and her dog Toto are swept away by a tornado from their Kansas farm to the magical Land of Oz and embark on a quest with three new friends to see the Wizard, who can return her to her home and fulfill the others’ wishes.”
Google has been working hard at creating new AI models and putting them to use in projects such as these. An Instagram post from Google Cloud explained some other new projects in the works:
Powerful AI tools for developers from #GoogleCloudNext:
✨ Gemini 2.5: Enhanced thinking models
Related: Google’s AI Gemini Can Now ‘Reason’ … But What Does That Mean?
🗣️ Live API: Real-time AI experiences
🔥 Firebase Studio: Cloud-based, agentic dev environment
🧰 Agent Development Kit (ADK): Build AI agents easily with Python
🤖 Code Assist: AI-powered coding partner
As AI and technology advances, we can look forward to new endeavors, projects and reimagined classics and hope that AI does not steal from a work’s original identity and beauty.
Read Next: You Won’t Believe What These WIZARD OF OZ Treasures Sold For
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