Sphere Entertainment is launching a new way to watch “The Wizard of Oz” on its massive Las Vegas venue starting August 28. The movie won’t just be projected on the 160,000-square-foot wraparound LED screen. Instead, a 2,000-person team is using AI to boost resolution and expand the film beyond the original frame.
The enhancement includes “outpainting”—AI fills in parts of the scene not in the original shots. This lets viewers see more than what was filmed, adding details like the full Scarecrow, the Yellow Brick Road, and Oz’s mountains.
Turner Classic Movies presenter Ben Mankiewicz explained the effect: 
“A grainy close-up of Dorothy becomes richly detailed, and then through a process called outpainting — though it seems like magic — we see the rest of the Scarecrow, the Yellow Brick Road, and the mountains of Oz.”
Sometimes, the expansion means creating new performances from the existing actors. Despite this, Sphere CEO James Dolan insists the original film itself isn’t being changed, just the viewing experience.
“Our standard on this was not to modify the film at all but to try and bring you into the film, as if you were in the studio when it was shot.”
Watch a CBS Sunday Morning segment for more on the tech behind the scenes.
The Sphere experience starts late August. This rollout signals how legacy films might get new life through AI enhancements — and big screens.
