Sacha Baron Cohen has had two feature films reviving characters he originated on Da Ali G Show, but for his first lead role since Bruno, he's inventing a character who's brand new, and probably bound to be controversial. In The Dictator Cohen plays the leader of a made-up Libya-ish country who pulls off insane stunts like shooting the other contestants in a footrace, paying Megan Fox for sexual services in rubies, and forcing both President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton to demand his resignation. Then he visits New York City and things manage to get even crazier-- they start with an elephant parade and, from what we hear, things only go downhill from there.

The first trailer for The Dictator has premiered online, and though it only focuses on introducing the character-- there's no sight of his love interest played by Anna Faris, for example-- it's a pretty damn good way to meet this General Aladeen. Take a look at the trailer below.



So basically imagine Borat with actual power, and hailing from a made-up country that allows Baron Cohen to push the envelope even further with terrorist jokes, atrocity jokes, and then one about a woman crushing bricks with her breasts, which I can't really figure out. Directed by Borat's Larry Charles, The Dictator is set for release on May 11 next year, and we'll find out then if Cohen can move on from the disappointing Bruno and return as a shocking but somehow endearing comedian. From this first look The Dictator looks a little broad and maybe a bit too ridiculous, but it's never been smart to bet against Sacha Baron Cohen, so I'm assuming it's only a matter of time before I'm fully on board. What say you?