Sacha Baron Cohen's Ali G Returns With 300 Lookalikes Ahead of New Film

A Lookalike Parade Through London

On October 11, 2026, Sacha Baron Cohen led about 300 people dressed as his Ali G character through central London aboard four double-decker buses, according to a promotional release from Coyote PR that was also reported by UK comedy outlet Chortle. The group visited Big Ben and Marble Arch and held a boat party on the River Thames before moving from Covent Garden to Leicester Square.

At Leicester Square, the group placed orders for hundreds of burgers at a McDonald's branch, then gathered outside Cineworld Leicester Square, where Baron Cohen, in character as Ali G, crowned the winner of an official 'Ali G Lookalike Competition' and posed for a group photo with the crowd, Coyote PR and Chortle reported. A photo from the Thames leg of the event, credited to Jeff Spicer/Getty Images, was included in The Guardian's weekend photo roundup, as summarised by Brit Brief.

The same promotional materials, cited by both Coyote PR and Chortle, had the character claim that more than 800,000 Ali Gs attended the day and that a nearby TK Maxx had 'over 300K worf of goods shoplifted.' Those figures appear in the film's own comedic press release rather than in any independent count, and are presented by the publicists as in-character exaggeration rather than verified statistics.

The Film Driving the Stunt

The London event promoted 'Ali G: Who Iz I?', which opens in cinemas for one weekend only on October 23, 2026, released by Amazon MGM Studios in association with Four By Two Films and Working Title Films, according to Coyote PR and entertainment site Urban Bridgez. Baron Cohen both stars in and directs the film, marking his feature directorial debut, Urban Bridgez and Vital Thrills reported.

The plot follows Ali G discovering that his long-term girlfriend Julie, played by Morgana Robinson, is eight months pregnant after two decades together; he travels to America hoping to revive his fortunes and faces threats to himself and his unborn child, per Urban Bridgez and Vital Thrills. Coyote PR lists the runtime at 89 minutes and names Stewart Rodeheaver among the cast. Vital Thrills reported the film received an R rating in the United States for crude and sexual content, graphic nudity, profanity and drug use; Coyote PR listed the UK's BBFC classification as 'TBC' at the time of the London event.

Why Ali G, Why Now

Ali G first appeared on Channel 4's 'The 11 O'Clock Show' in 1998 and became Baron Cohen's main vehicle through 'Da Ali G Show' in the early 2000s, before headlining the 2002 film 'Ali G Indahouse' and the 2014 broadcast 'Ali G Rezurection', according to Wikipedia. 'Who Iz I?' is the character's first theatrical feature in 24 years.

Promotional material for the new film also reaches into Baron Cohen's wider roster of characters: in one trailer clip reported by Vital Thrills, Ali G complains about 'dis prick Borat' talking down the new movie, a reference to Borat, who originated as a recurring bit on 'Da Ali G Show' in the 2000s before becoming a separate franchise.

A Character Built on Contrast

Wikipedia describes Ali G as a fictional 'faux-streetwise poseur' from Staines-upon-Thames, Surrey, whose full name is given as Alistair Leslie Graham. The character speaks in Multicultural London English and is known for conducting interviews with subjects who are unaware they are part of a comedic setup, a format Baron Cohen used throughout 'Da Ali G Show' and later adapted for Borat and other personas.

The October 11 parade did not happen in isolation from other character-driven imagery that week: the same Guardian weekend photo selection, relayed by Brit Brief, also featured a cosplayer dressed as Marge Simpson emerging from a New York City subway station on her way to Comic-Con, photographed by Ron Adar/Shutterstock. The two images were unrelated beyond both being costume-based set pieces chosen by Guardian picture editors for the same gallery.