Edward James Olmos didn’t make it into the final cut of The Predator

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

About a year and a half ago, it was announced that veteran actor Edward James Olmos, who has racked up more than 115 credits over the course of his 40+ year career, had joined the cast of director Shane Black's THE PREDATOR, an "inventive sequel" to the 1987 classic PREDATOR.

Olmos was taking on the role of a four-star military general… but when THE PREDATOR is released next month, we won't be seeing his character in the finished film. While doing publicity for the upcoming FX television series Mayans M.C., Olmos revealed to /Film that he didn't make the final cut.

I’m not in the show though. It was too long so my character, they had to take me out. They were like half an hour, 3/4 of an hour too long. So I understand why."

It's disappointing to hear that Olmos isn't in the movie, but at least he didn't have to wait until a screening to find out he wasn't in it. He got a phone call notifying him that his scenes had to be cut.

It was gracious of them to call me and tell me, ‘Hey, we really feel bad,’ you know?"

Actors who will be seen in the film include Boyd Holbrook, Yvonne Strahovski, Jacob Tremblay, Thomas Jane, Keegan-Michael Key, Trevante Rhodes, Alfie Allen, Augusto Aguilera, Olivia Munn, Sterling K. Brown, and Jake Busey. Busey is playing the son of the character his father Gary played in PREDATOR 2.

Written by Black and his THE MONSTER SQUAD collaborator Fred Dekker, THE PREDATOR has the following synopsis:

From the outer reaches of space to the small-town streets of suburbia, the hunt comes home in Shane Black’s explosive reinvention of the Predator series. Now, the universe’s most lethal hunters are stronger, smarter and deadlier than ever before, having genetically upgraded themselves with DNA from other species. When a young boy accidentally triggers their return to Earth, only a ragtag crew of ex-soldiers and a disgruntled science teacher can prevent the end of the human race.

The film is set to reach theatres on September 14th.