Sacha Baron Cohen has been quietly making a movie. Ali G: Who Iz I?, the title announced Wednesday through an in-character Instagram post, will open in theaters October 23, 2026, distributed by Amazon MGM Studios. It is Cohen's feature directorial debut, and the first Ali G film since Ali G Indahouse in 2002.
The film was shot in secret, following the covert production approach Cohen has used on Borat and Borat Subsequent Moviefilm. Plot details remain undisclosed, though the project returns to the man-on-the-street prank format. Announcing the film fully in character, Cohen wrote: "Dey haz finally made a documentary about me. And it ain't dat crap one about da penguins, dis one haz got at least twice as much animal sex."
The character debuted on Channel 4's The 11 O'Clock Show in 1998 before headlining HBO's Da Ali G Show in the early 2000s. The series built its reputation on a simple premise: an obliviously confident interviewer extracting unguarded responses from public figures who didn't understand the joke. Ali G Indahouse arrived in 2002 and performed well enough, though it never matched the rawness of the show. Cohen moved on to Borat and Brüno, both of which became something else: major satirical events.
The decision to direct himself is the most surprising element. Cohen has spent two decades as a chameleon in other people's films. Stepping behind the camera on a project he has apparently been building quietly for years suggests a shift in how he sees the character, or what he needs to control around it.
Amazon MGM Studios previously handled Borat Subsequent Moviefilm. The October 23 opening is competitive, but Ali G is not a franchise that competes on spectacle. The question is whether the character still has something to say that needs the cinema to say it.
