A week from today, Twentieth Century Fox will release The Predator into theaters, the fourth film in the Predator series (or sixth, if you count those god-awful Alien vs. Predator films). But there’s one thing that will be missing from it. I guess you could say the titular predator wasn’t the only predator on the set of The Predator.

According to the Los Angeles Times, a memo was recently sent to Twentieth Century Fox telling them to delete a scene between Olivia Munn and an actor named Steven Wilder Striegel. Steven was a friend of director Shane Black, and was cast for a short three-page scene. Everything on set between Olivia and Steven was professional, but it wasn’t until last month that she learned he is a registered sex offender.

That’s definitely the sort of thing that would be 100% awkward to talk about during a press tour, and so right after Olivia discovered the truth about Steven, she reported her findings to Fox on August 15. Fox then made the decision to cut Steven’s scene from the movie. They issued the following statement saying they didn’t know:

“Our studio was not aware of Mr. Striegel’s background when he was hired. We were not aware of his background during the casting process due to legal limitations that impede studios from running background checks on actors.”

If my three-week, part-time seasonal job folding jeans at The Gap was able to verify that I had a clean record, I’m pretty sure Hollywood can find their way around a background check.

However, not everyone was in the dark about Creepy Steve. Shane Black has known Steve since 2004, and knew that he was a registered sex offender. Shane hired him anyways, because he “chose to help a friend.” That’s something that bothered Olivia Munn. On the other hand, she’s happy Fox did something about it.

Munn said she found it “both surprising and unsettling that Shane Black, our director, did not share this information to the cast, crew, or Fox Studios prior to, during, or after production. However, I am relieved that when Fox finally did receive the information, the studio took appropriate action by deleting the scene featuring Wilder prior to release of the film.”

According to the LA Times, Steven pled guilty in 2010 to attempting to lure a 14-year-old girl (who Steven describes as a “distant relative” – BARF) into a sexual relationship via the internet. Steven would have been 39 at the time. A teenage girl? The internet? Honestly, Steven sounds like he would have been more at home on the set of To Catch a Predator than The Predator.

Here’s Olivia Munn at the TIFF premiere of The Predator yesterday in Toronto.

Pics: Wenn.com