Google and Sphere Entertainment, the immersive entertainment venue in Las Vegas, Nevada, announced a partnership to develop The Wizard of Oz at Sphere using generative AI (gen AI), according to a press release.

The companies say the collaboration will involve engineering work, as well as “thousands of creators, coders, VFX artists, and more,” to present the immersive experience which opens in Las Vegas on August 28, 2025.

Google Cloud and DeepMind will deploy Gemini models Veo 2 and Imagen 3 to enhance the film's resolution, extend backgrounds, and digitally recreate existing characters who would otherwise not appear on the same screen. 

Sphere is also using Google Cloud's AI-optimized infrastructure to support the data and computational demands of immersive experiences, with The Wizard of Oz at Sphere processing 1.2 petabytes of data over the course of the project to date.

Google is one of the many tech giants ramping up AI across multiple domains, though the film industry, in particular, has been somewhat hesitant to embrace AI. Nevertheless, Google is moving forward in this attempt to combine cinema with AI for an immersive entertainment experience.

"Our partnership with Sphere on The Wizard of Oz at Sphere is a great example of pushing the boundaries of generative AI to deliver exciting new experiences for audiences – and new opportunities for studios and filmmakers," said Thomas Kurian, CEO, Google Cloud. "We are honored to play a role in such an ambitious project to bring a classic piece of Americana to an entirely new generation of audiences."

Google AI and The Wizard of Oz at Sphere

Originally released in 1939, The Wizard of Oz was filmed using what was at the time a revolutionary, three-strip Technicolor 35mm motion picture camera and was only the third Hollywood production to bring this color process to cinema audiences. Google and Sphere are quick to point out that this same film is part of their own attempt to innovate nearly 90 years later.

Sphere will bring an immersive version of The Wizard of Oz to its 160,000-square-foot interior display plane, using Google AI alongside traditional VFX and film techniques to expand scenes and enhance characters.

Google Cloud and DeepMind are employing Gemini, Veo and Imagen models, as well as Google Cloud infrastructure such as the company's custom AI accelerators, Tensor Processor Units (TPUs), Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE), and more. One technique being used for the film is called “super resolution,” intended to “intelligently enhance” the film's resolution, filling in missing pixels and creating an ultra-crisp 16k image, essential for Sphere's 16k x 16k resolution interior display plane. 

Other techniques include “outpainting” to expand the film's visual scope for Sphere's immersive environment, and extend the backgrounds and characters, “performance generation” for storytelling techniques that allow multiple characters to remain on screen for extended periods, and context window for ensuring that the enhanced visuals remain consistent throughout the film.

"The power of generative AI, combined with Google's infrastructure and expertise, is helping us to achieve something extraordinary," said Jim Dolan, Executive Chairman and CEO, Sphere Entertainment. "We needed a partner who could push boundaries alongside our teams at Sphere Studios and Magnopus, and Google was the only company equipped to meet the challenge on the world's highest resolution LED screen."