Sacha Baron Cohen is bringing one of his most iconic characters back to the big screen. Amazon MGM has released the official trailer for Ali G: Who Iz I?, a new mockumentary that marks the return of Cohen’s swaggering, clueless London bad boy more than two decades after he first appeared in his own feature film. The film is scheduled to hit theaters on October 23, 2026, with Cohen also making his feature directorial debut.
Ali G: Who Iz I? follows Ali G after he has spent roughly 20 years “chillin’, tokin’ and bonin’.” His comfortable existence is interrupted when he discovers that his longtime girlfriend, Julie, played by Morgana Robinson, is eight months pregnant. Suddenly faced with the prospect of becoming a father, Ali G decides that it is time to get back into the spotlight.
His solution is to travel to America and attempt to reclaim the glory he believes he once had. However, his plans quickly become complicated as he encounters a series of adversaries and situations that threaten not only his ambitions but also the future of his unborn child.
The trailer suggests that Ali G has not changed much despite his long absence. His exaggerated confidence, bizarre observations and complete lack of self-awareness remain central to the character, while the new film places him in a world that has changed considerably since audiences last saw him on the big screen.
One of the biggest changes is the rise of social media. The trailer brings Ali G into the TikTok and viral-content era, with the character attempting to navigate trends and forms of online entertainment that would have been largely unfamiliar when the original Ali G movie was released. The contrast gives Cohen another opportunity to use Ali G’s outdated worldview against contemporary culture.
The film also continues Cohen’s distinctive mockumentary approach. Like Borat, Brüno and Who Is America?, Ali G: Who Iz I? was filmed secretly, allowing Cohen to interact with people who appear to be unaware that they are participating in a scripted comedy. The technique has been a defining feature of Cohen’s work, relying on the tension between his fictional characters and real-world reactions.
The trailer reportedly includes Ali G interacting with real people and public figures, including retired U.S. Army general Stewart Rodeheaver. These encounters suggest that the film will retain the unpredictable real-world interactions that helped establish Cohen’s reputation.
Ali G has been part of Cohen’s comedy career for nearly three decades. The character first appeared on Channel 4’s The 11 O’Clock Show in 1998, where Cohen introduced the persona of an exaggerated, self-styled West Staines “rude boy.” The character became popular enough to receive his own television series, Da Ali G Show, in the early 2000s.
The format established the template that would later become central to Cohen’s international career: an outrageous fictional character interviewing real people who often appeared to take the premise seriously. Ali G’s interviews with politicians, academics and celebrities became particularly well known, with figures such as Noam Chomsky, Andy Rooney and Newt Gingrich appearing on the show.
Cohen previously brought Ali G to theaters in 2002’s Ali G Indahouse, directed by Mark Mylod. That film grossed around $25 million worldwide and remains the character’s only previous feature-film outing. Ali G: Who Iz I? therefore represents Ali G’s first major return to cinema in approximately 24 years.
The new film also marks a significant change behind the camera. Cohen is making his feature directorial debut, while also writing and producing the project through his Four by Two Films banner. Petr Jákl and Emily Kob are executive producers.
The project continues Cohen’s relationship with Amazon MGM. He previously worked with the studio on Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, which premiered on Prime Video in 2020 and earned Cohen an Academy Award nomination for co-writing. This time, however, Ali G: Who Iz I? is being positioned as a theatrical release rather than a streaming debut.
Cohen’s return to Ali G comes after a period in which he has continued working across major film and television projects without regularly revisiting the character that first made him internationally famous. More recently, he appeared as Mephisto in Marvel’s Ironheart, while also starring in projects including Netflix’s Ladies First and Prime Video’s Balls Up.
What makes Ali G: Who Iz I? particularly notable is that it is not simply a nostalgic return to a character from the early 2000s. The film appears designed to place Ali G’s deliberately outdated persona against a completely different cultural landscape — one shaped by social media, viral fame and a much faster media cycle.
That gives Cohen an opportunity to explore what happens when Ali G, who once attempted to present himself as a streetwise celebrity, encounters a world where becoming famous can happen overnight through a smartphone. Whether the character can still generate the same shock and comedy after more than two decades will ultimately depend on how the film’s real-world encounters play out.
For now, the trailer confirms that the original Ali G is back, complete with his distinctive accent, oversized confidence and unconventional approach to life. After 24 years, Cohen is once again putting the character into situations where his version of reality collides with the real world.
Ali G: Who Iz I? will be released in theaters on October 23, 2026.
Watch Ali G: Who Iz I? trailer:
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