Sacha Baron Cohen Revives Another Infamous Character in Directorial Debut [Exclusive]

Ali G is officially returning to a much different world 20 years after his last on-screen appearance. Sacha Baron Cohen has kept his controversial white poseur, once hailed as one of Channel 4's greatest television characters for his time on The 11 O'Clock Show and Da Ali G Show, tucked away for a while now. Yet, like Borat Sagdiyev before him, the character has been shockingly brought out of retirement to help tackle the issues of today that most frighten and disturb the British comedian in Ali G: Who Iz I. However, he's not alone among Cohen's characters in his big return to theaters.

In Cohen's directorial debut, Ali G: Who Iz I? picks up with the titular walking cultural appropriator "after twenty years spent 'chillin’, tokin’ and bonin’" right as he learns that his longtime girlfriend is eight months pregnant. With another mouth to feed and more responsibility on the way, he quits lazing around and heads to America in hopes of reclaiming his past glory through the power of documentary with real people, only to find new adversaries overseas who pose a serious threat to himself and his family. It's a return to Cohen's guerrilla style of comedy, full of self-admittedly juvenile humor and biting satire pointed at the state of society, political extremism, bigotry, and hypocrisy by those in power. As part of that approach, Collider can share an exclusive sneak peek that welcomes back one of his personas from Who Is America? — Israeli anti-terrorism expert Erran Morad.

The footage straddles the line between funny and chilling as Morad introduces himself to a group of men as an Israeli military colonel with plenty of experience in terror attacks. So familiar with terrorism is he, in fact, that he started two attacks himself. Then, he starts questioning each of his apparent mentees, starting with a Republican Party chairman from El Paso, Texas. He is adamant about trying to stop illegal immigration, claiming that there's been "huge amounts of terrorism" and deadly gang activity. Morad then jumps from one man to another, often local working-class Americans, several of whom go as far as calling President Joe Biden worse than Hitler for his lack of action and agreeing that there is genocide happening against white conservatives. Cohen, in character, then subtly turns the tables on them, listing the hilariously many jobs immigrants "aren't" going to do and instead simply says "they're coming to kill you."

'Ali G: Who Iz I?'

For as comedic as Moran can be portrayed with his ever-changing military rank and overly extreme methods of combating the greatest "evils" in society, Cohen says he also serves to put a mirror up to people who think like him and take fear of the "other" too far. In his recent TIME article on the power of satire following his appearance on the cover, the comedian detailed how that approach applies to all of his characters in some way. They're all designed to get people to be a little more open and honest with their core beliefs to expose how, for as much as each figure he plays is angled as an exaggeration, they're all ultimately not as far from reality as expected.

"Each of my characters has a specific mechanism to encourage people to drop their guards and show what they really believe, prejudices and all. Borat, an antisemitic journalist, exposes Jew hatred, xeno­phobia, sexism, and casual racism. Erran Morad, a stereotype of a tough-guy Israeli commando—'I’ve been in 14 terror attacks,' he says in my new movie Ali G: Who Iz I?, 'and started two'—exposes Islamophobia and the ludicrous things people will do when they’re gripped by an irrational fear of 'the other.'"

As for the main character of Ali G: Who Iz I, Cohen says he "works on another level. He’s not extreme—he’s just extremely dumb. But his absurd questions lead powerful people to underestimate him and answer in earnest, revealing their own biases." The film has drawn considerable criticism over what some view as an outdated and, at worst, racist main character, given his ludicrous levels of appropriation, though Cohen himself argues that Ali G being so problematic is not only the point, but exactly why he needed to be brought back at this time. "All the prejudices my characters are designed to expose haven’t just lingered—they’ve metastasized. They’re fueled by the greatest propaganda machine in history—social media—and now by its monstrous child, AI." Anthony Hines, Peter Baynham, Dan Swimer, Dan Mazer, and Keisha Zollar all co-wrote the new comedy with Cohen, which will only dive deeper into the satire throughout its 90-minute runtime.

Ali G: Who Iz I? arrives in theaters for one weekend only on October 23. Check out the exclusive sneak peek in the player above.