Remember Ali G? He's Back in Cinemas After 24 Years

Ali G is back on the big screen. Ali G: Who Iz I?, the first feature-length outing for Sacha Baron Cohen's self-styled voice of youth since Ali G Indahouse in 2002, opens in UK cinemas today, Friday 23 October 2026, and arrives in American cinemas on the same day.

The film comes from Amazon MGM Studios and marks Baron Cohen's debut as a director, with the comedian taking charge behind the camera as well as in front of it.

The official synopsis finds Ali G after twenty years spent "chillin', tokin' and bonin'", only for him to discover that his long-term girlfriend, Julie, is eight months pregnant. With an extra mouth to feed, he heads to America in a bid to reclaim his former glory, where he soon runs into adversaries who end up threatening his own future and that of his unborn child.

Julie is played this time by Morgana Robinson, the impressionist and comic actress whose television work includes House of Fools. Soap fans may remember that the role was taken in Ali G Indahouse by Kellie Bright, who has since become a fixture of Albert Square as Linda Carter in EastEnders.

The return also completes a remarkable arc for a character who began life as a segment on someone else's programme.

Ali G first appeared as the "voice of youth" on Channel 4's The 11 O'Clock Show in 1998 before landing his own series, Da Ali G Show, in the early 2000s, and in 2001 Channel 4 viewers placed him eighth in its poll of the 100 Greatest TV Characters.

Baron Cohen said in 2007 that he had retired Ali G, although the character has made occasional comebacks since, including at the British Comedy Awards in 2012 and at the Oscars in 2016. Baron Cohen has kept busy with other plans too, among them a role in Quentin Tarantino's first stage play in the West End.

Watch the official trailer:

Whether a new generation takes to Ali G as readily as the one that grew up quoting him will become clear over the opening weekend, when the first box office figures land and audiences finally get to see what Baron Cohen has been hiding all year.

Ali G: Who Iz I? is showing in cinemas across the UK from today.

Images: Amazon MGM Studios.