Sacha Baron Cohen Brings Ali G Back in WHO IZ I?

Ali G returns more than two decades after INDAHOUSE as Sacha Baron Cohen takes his iconic character to America for a new adventure.

Sacha Baron Cohen is bringing one of his most famous characters back to the big screen.

Amazon MGM Studios has unveiled ALI G: WHO IZ I?, a new comedy starring Cohen as the wildly inappropriate, self-proclaimed voice of the youth, Ali G. The film marks the character’s first starring movie in more than two decades and Cohen’s feature directorial debut.

Cohen also directs the film, with Morgana Robinson joining him in the cast. ALI G: WHO IZ I? will be released exclusively in theaters by Amazon MGM Studios.

This time, Ali G has a major problem that even the leader of the West Staines Massiv might not be prepared to handle: fatherhood.

Ali G Heads To America In WHO IZ I?

After spending the last 20 years “chillin’, tokin’ and bonin’,” Ali discovers that his longtime girlfriend, Julie, is eight months pregnant.

The unexpected news means Ali suddenly has another mouth to feed. Determined to reclaim his former glory, he gets off his “batty” and heads to America. However, his attempted comeback quickly becomes much more dangerous as he encounters new adversaries who threaten both Ali and his unborn child.

The movie appears set to return Cohen to the style of comedy that made his characters international sensations, mixing Ali G’s outrageous personality with interactions involving real people. The first trailer features Cohen back in character conducting interviews and creating uncomfortable situations with unsuspecting participants.

That approach also makes WHO IZ I? an interesting evolution from Ali G’s previous feature film.

Who Is Sacha Baron Cohen’s Ali G?

Cohen introduced Ali G on the British late-night comedy series The 11 O’Clock Show in 1998. The character was presented as an absurdly confident, faux-streetwise interviewer from Staines who considered himself the “voice of da yoof.”

Ali G became popular enough to receive his own series, Da Ali G Show, which debuted on Channel 4 in the U.K. in 2000. Cohen used the series to interview real and frequently unsuspecting politicians, celebrities and public figures while remaining completely committed to the character.

The format also introduced audiences to two other Cohen creations who would eventually become movie stars themselves: Kazakh journalist Borat Sagdiyev and Austrian fashion reporter Brüno Gehard. The show later expanded to the United States through HBO, where new episodes aired in 2003 and 2004.

Ali G made the jump to theaters with ALI G INDAHOUSE in 2002. Directed by Mark Mylod, the scripted comedy followed Ali as he became involved in British politics and was eventually elected to Parliament. Unlike Cohen’s later character-driven movies, INDAHOUSE was a traditional fictional comedy rather than a mockumentary built around unsuspecting real-world participants.

More than two decades later, ALI G: WHO IZ I? brings the character back while seemingly combining his original interview format with the cinematic style Cohen later perfected through Borat.

Sacha Baron Cohen’s Characters Became Movie Icons

Following ALI G INDAHOUSE, Cohen turned Borat into an international phenomenon with 2006’s BORAT: CULTURAL LEARNINGS OF AMERICA FOR MAKE BENEFIT GLORIOUS NATION OF KAZAKHSTAN.

The mockumentary sent Borat across the United States, where Cohen interacted with people who often had no idea they were part of an elaborate comedy. The movie became one of Cohen’s defining projects and earned him an Academy Award nomination for its adapted screenplay.

Cohen followed it by bringing another Da Ali G Show character to theaters with BRÜNO in 2009.

He later starred as Admiral General Aladeen in the 2012 comedy THE DICTATOR, which moved away from his established television characters while maintaining his provocative approach to satire.

Cohen returned to Borat nearly 15 years after the original with 2020’s BORAT SUBSEQUENT MOVIEFILM. The sequel once again combined scripted storytelling with real-world encounters and earned Cohen another Oscar nomination for adapted screenplay.

His career has also stretched far beyond his undercover comedy characters. Cohen has appeared in films including SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET, HUGO, LES MISÉRABLES and the MADAGASCAR franchise. He earned an Academy Award nomination for his dramatic performance as activist Abbie Hoffman in Aaron Sorkin’s THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7.

Now, Cohen is going back to the character who helped start it all.

With Ali G returning to America, a baby on the way and Cohen taking control behind the camera for his feature directorial debut, ALI G: WHO IZ I? gives the comedian another opportunity to unleash his particular brand of unpredictable satire on a very different world from the one Ali last explored.

ALI G: WHO IZ I? will be released exclusively in theaters on October 23, 2026.