Ali G is back as Sacha Baron Cohen sets October theater date
Amazon MGM Studios will release Sacha Baron Cohen’s Ali G: Who Iz I? in theaters on Oct. 23, according to Deadline.
By Bianca Rossi · Entertainment Editor
2 min read
Sacha Baron Cohen’s mystery Ali G movie has a name and a date: Ali G: Who Iz I? is headed to theaters on Oct. 23 through Amazon MGM Studios, Deadline reported.
The film will also mark Cohen’s first time directing a feature, according to Deadline’s Anthony D’Alessandro. The project brings back one of Cohen’s signature comic creations, the wannabe British hip-hop interviewer who helped launch him from UK television to a wider international audience.
Amazon MGM Studios is giving the movie a theatrical release in a busy fall corridor. Deadline reported that Ali G: Who Iz I? is currently dated against Warner Bros. and DC’s Clayface, as well as Sony’s Klara and the Sun, directed by Taika Waititi and starring Jenna Ortega and Amy Adams.
A return after Borat’s streaming splash
The movie reunites Cohen with Amazon MGM Studios after the company handled Borat Subsequent Moviefilm during the Covid era. That sequel premiered on Prime Video in October 2020, when many cinemas were still closed or operating under restrictions.
Deadline noted that Borat Subsequent Moviefilm put Cohen’s Kazakh reporter character back in the middle of real-world ambush comedy, including a sequence involving former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani. The film also drew major awards attention, with recognition in the adapted screenplay race and for Bulgarian actor Maria Bakalova’s supporting performance.
Cohen has been nominated for three Oscars, according to Deadline. Ali G: Who Iz I? now puts one of his earliest characters back on the big screen, this time with Cohen behind the camera as director.
Ali G’s long road from Channel 4
Ali G first appeared on Channel 4’s The 11 O’Clock Show before becoming the center of Da Ali G Show in the early 2000s. The series later aired on HBO, where Cohen built a larger US following.
The character’s interview targets over the years included Donald Trump, before Trump became president, and former United Nations Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, according to Deadline.
Ali G has been in theaters before. Cohen starred as the character in the 2002 feature Ali G Indahouse, which Deadline reported did not receive a domestic release. The movie earned more than $23 million overseas, with most of that total coming from the UK.
Cohen’s bigger global breakout followed in 2006 with Borat, which Deadline reported grossed $262.5 million.
Word that Cohen was working on a new undercover-style Ali G project surfaced recently after the actor appeared at Wimbledon in full Ali G costume, Deadline reported. Now the comeback has a title, a distributor and a theatrical date.
This story draws on original reporting from Deadline.