22 Years Later, Sacha Baron Cohen Finally Reveals One of His Greatest Ali G Regrets

Sacha Baron Cohen is bringing Ali G back, and he’s getting surprisingly honest about the character’s past. Da Ali G Show began on Channel 4 in 2000 before moving to HBO for two more seasons in 2003 and 2004. After that, Cohen walked away for good.

His new film jokes that the show ended over a failed money deal with HBO. But speaking to THR, Cohen revealed that HBO actually wanted more. He also admitted to envying his friend Larry David, whose Curb Your Enthusiasm ran for 12 seasons on the network.

Over those 12 seasons, David kept coming back to the same character whenever he felt like it, something Cohen now seems to wish he had done too. He shared:

Oh, yes. HBO wanted to carry on. I said no because at that time, in Britain, I think a lot of comedians were snobs about doing multiple seasons. So, there was no expectation or desire to do 15 seasons — to do the American way. I’m very friendly with Larry David, and I’m jealous of him that he can do Curb again and again. I probably would’ve had a much easier life if I just carried on doing Da Ali G Show.

The series turned Cohen into a global star, thanks to his fake interviews with real politicians and experts who had no idea they were being pranked. It also introduced the world to Borat and Brüno, who later got their own hit movies.

Now, Ali G returns in Ali G: Who Iz I?, written, produced, and directed by Cohen. It’s his feature directorial debut and a sequel to 2002’s Ali G Indahouse. The Amazon MGM Studios film hits theaters on October 23, 2026.

Sacha Baron Cohen Explains Why He Is Bringing Back Ali G

Two decades is a long time to keep a character on the shelf, so why bring Ali G back now after he decided to walk away from the character? Sacha Baron Cohen answered that question in a piece he wrote for TIME magazine. According to him, the goal was never just about getting laughs, and that has been true of nearly all his work, from Borat to Who Is America?. He wrote:

I made this latest film for the same reason I’ve always done this work. Not only to make people laugh, but also to bring them face-to-face with the danger of fanaticism and conspiracy theories.

Cohen knew that Ali G hasn’t aged well. The character mixes British slang with gangsta rap swagger, and some viewers see that as cultural appropriation. But Cohen shared that was the whole point, since the joke has always been on Ali G himself and on the powerful people who took him seriously. He wrote:

The fact that Ali G is outdated and problematic is the very reason I resurrected him. The world he’s returned to is, in many ways, worse than the one he left 20 years ago.

In Cohen’s view, the internet has made things worse. Back in the 2000s, Ali G was the lone fool interviewing experts. Today, social media and conspiracy theories have made that kind of foolishness far more common.

Sacha Baron Cohen Wanted to Get Canceled in Real Life for Ali G

Reviving a character many already call problematic is a big risk in today’s climate. Comedians regularly face online backlash for far less, and Sacha Baron Cohen has spent his career walking straight into controversy.

His new film also takes aim at extremism on both sides of politics, with Cohen playing an ultraprogressive extremist as a foil to Ali G. During his interview with THR, Cohen revealed a wild idea that almost made the final cut. He got himself canceled to portray a moment when Ali G is canceled. He shared:

I’ll tell you, in the script, there was a moment where Ali G is canceled, and the way we wanted to do that was that I, Sacha, should be canceled in the real world and the idea was to use the footage of me being canceled and stick it into the movie.

However, it never made the cut because the makers didn’t have enough money to put the footage in the movie. It’s a classic Cohen move, blurring the line between his characters and real life. He has long built his comedy on catching real reactions, so turning his own cancellation into a scene feels perfectly on brand. Sadly, budget limits mean fans won’t get to see that meta twist play out on screen.

What are your thoughts on Cohen bringing Ali G back? Let us know in the comments below!