Sacha Baron Cohen Says Ali G May Be His Last Undercover Comedy Film

Sacha Baron Cohen has said his new film, Ali G: Who Iz I?, may be the last time he works in undercover comedy. He made the remarks on an episode of Deadline's Comedy Means Business podcast, published on 2 November 2026. Deadline reports that he called the film his "most extreme and ambitious" movie yet.

Ali G is the clueless celebrity interviewer Cohen first played on television. This is the first film built around the character in more than 20 years. It is also Cohen's first film as a director. He told the New York Times that he felt compelled to bring the character back.

The story starts after Da Ali G Show has been cancelled. Ali G returns when he learns that his girlfriend, Julie, played by Morgana Robinson, is pregnant. Cohen said the project was first approached as a fugitive thriller, a chase story with a man on the run. He also said he consulted Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, the screenwriters of Avengers: Endgame, while shaping the plot. Dr. Nira Cain-N'Degeocello and Erran Morad also appear alongside him.

The climactic sequence was shot without a break over eight hours, across 12 locations, with nearly 200 crew members on hand. That kind of night shoot needs a lot of planning, with every location and every crew member lined up for the same stretch of time.

The film's road to audiences has not been smooth. Amazon MGM Studios released the first trailer in August 2026, according to Deadline. Within days, the trailer sparked calls for a theatre boycott, with critics saying the character reinforces harmful racial stereotypes. Deadline reported those calls at the time. In September, the film's writer defended the movie against the outcry, Deadline reported.

Cohen's comments on the podcast are the latest in a run of interviews about the film. NPR's A Martinez spoke with him about bringing the character back to the big screen in October. The conversation about Ali G, and whether the character should return at all, has followed the film from its first trailer to its release campaign.

For now, the clearest facts are these. Cohen says this may be his final outing in undercover comedy. The film is his first as director, and the most ambitious he has made, in his own words. What comes next for the film will depend on its distributor, Amazon MGM Studios, and on audiences.