The Wizard of Oz - Watch Order: Release Order

Other Watch Orders:
1939 - 20256 Films10h 37m3.7 Average

The Wizard of Oz has inspired over a century of feature film adaptations, each offering its own unique interpretation of L. Frank Baum's beloved world. Rather than forming a connected franchise, these films represent different creative visions of the same source material, from MGM's Technicolor classic to urban retellings, dark sequels, and musical prequels.

This release order watch list includes the most significant theatrical adaptations, spanning multiple decades and styles. You'll encounter different timelines, reboots, and alternate mythologies that each establish their own rules for the Land of Oz, making this less of a traditional franchise and more of a showcase of how one story can be endlessly reimagined.

1
The Wizard of Oz poster

The Wizard of Oz

19391h 42m4.5
Director: Victor Fleming
Cast: Judy Garland, Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr, Jack Haley

Young Dorothy finds herself in a magical world where she makes friends with a lion, a scarecrow and a tin man as they make their way along the yellow brick road to talk with the Wizard and ask for the things they miss most in their lives. The Wicked Witch of the West is the only thing that could stop them.

AdventureFantasyFamily
2
The Wiz poster

The Wiz

19782h 14m3.2
Director: Sidney Lumet
Cast: Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Nipsey Russell, Ted Ross, Mabel King

Dorothy Gale, a shy kindergarten teacher, is swept away to the magic land of Oz where she embarks on a quest to return home.

MusicFantasyAdventure
3
Return to Oz poster

Return to Oz

19851h 49m3.8
Director: Walter Murch
Cast: Fairuza Balk, Nicol Williamson, Jean Marsh, Piper Laurie, Matt Clark

Dorothy, saved from a psychiatric experiment by a mysterious girl, finds herself back in the land of her dreams, and makes delightful new friends, and dangerous new enemies.

AdventureFamilyFantasy
4
Oz the Great and Powerful poster

Oz the Great and Powerful

20132h 10m3.2
Director: Sam Raimi
Cast: James Franco, Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz, Michelle Williams, Zach Braff

Oscar Diggs, a small-time circus illusionist and con-artist, is whisked from Kansas to the Land of Oz where the inhabitants assume he's the great wizard of prophecy, there to save Oz from the clutches of evil.

FantasyAdventureFamily
5
Wicked poster

Wicked

20242h 42m4
Director: Jon M. Chu
Cast: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Jonathan Bailey

In the land of Oz, ostracized and misunderstood green-skinned Elphaba is forced to share a room with the popular aristocrat Glinda at Shiz University, and the two's unlikely friendship is tested as they begin to fulfill their respective destinies as Glinda the Good and the Wicked Witch of the West.

DramaRomanceFantasy
6
Wicked: For Good poster

Wicked: For Good

2025
Director: Jon M. Chu
Cast: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Marissa Bode

As an angry mob rises against the Wicked Witch, Glinda and Elphaba will need to come together one final time. With their singular friendship now the fulcrum of their futures, they will need to truly see each other, with honesty and empathy, if they are to change themselves, and all of Oz, for good.

FantasyRomanceMusic