Sacha Baron Cohen has been secretly making an Ali G movie, and now it has a name and a release date. “Ali G: Who Iz I?” The film is scheduled to open in theaters on October 23, with Amazon MGM Studios handling distribution, Variety reports. Cohen also directed the film himself — his first time behind the camera on a full feature.
The reveal came Wednesday in true Ali G fashion. Cohen posted an Instagram video fully in character, announcing that a “documentary” about him had finally been made and joking that it packs “at least twice as much animal sex” as a certain penguin documentary, per Variety.
Secrecy has become something of a signature move for Cohen. He shot both “Borat” in 2006 and its 2020 sequel under wraps to preserve the element of surprise for unsuspecting interview subjects, and “Who Iz I?” appears to follow the same playbook. Amazon MGM is treating the release as a wide theatrical rollout, according to Deadline, a date also confirmed by The Playlist.
Ali G first appeared on British screens in 1998, on Channel 4’s “The 11 O’Clock Show,” according to Wikipedia, before Cohen expanded the character on “Da Ali G Show” in the early 2000s. The character already anchored one feature, 2002’s “Ali G Indahouse,” which kicked off a run of Cohen mockumentary-style films that includes “Borat,” “Brüno,” and “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm.”
Cohen has had an unusually busy stretch outside the Ali G universe as well. He played the demon Mephisto in Marvel’s “Ironheart” on Disney+, a casting choice the show’s team has said came from finding a better thematic fit than the comics’ original antagonist, Dormammu, according to SlashFilm. Cohen also underwent a notable physical transformation for the role, training to get leaner and more muscular ahead of filming, per IMDb. The character’s MCU debut in the show’s finale had been anticipated by fans for years, according to SuperHeroHype.
Beyond Marvel, Cohen has also starred in two 2026 comedies, “Ladies First” and “Balls Up,” and holds three Oscar nominations to his name — two for adapted screenplay, for the original “Borat” and its sequel, and one for best supporting actor for 2021’s “The Trial of the Chicago 7.”
No trailer for “Ali G: Who Iz I?” has been released yet, but with an October 23 date now locked in, one is expected to follow in the coming weeks.
