Rogue One gets an Andor cut from fan editor David Kaylor

At a glance:

• Fan editor David Kaylor is releasing a re-edited cut of Rogue One reimagined as the finale and epilogue of Andor, told from Cassian's point of view instead of Jyn's.
• The cut will feature Andor's musical themes and leitmotifs, employ flashback sequences modeled on the show, and use fan-made deepfake renders of Grand Moff Tarkin and Princess Leia from creator Shamook.
• The Andor Cut will be available to watch for free on May 25.

What the Andor Cut actually does

When Andor wrapped its full run last year, it gave audiences the complete arc of Cassian Andor's life across both television and film. That context changed how many viewers revisited Rogue One, the 2016 prequel that originally centered on Jyn Erso's mission to steal the Death Star plans. Fan editor David Kaylor noticed the shift and decided to bridge the two stories more explicitly. His upcoming cut re-envisions Rogue One as the finale and epilogue of Andor, restructuring the entire film around Cassian's perspective rather than Jyn's.

To make that tonal shift work, Kaylor is swapping in Andor's musical themes and leitmotifs throughout the runtime, something the original Rogue One never did. He is also adding flashback sequences similar to the way Andor used them, weaving in earlier moments from Cassian's life that the show explored in depth. The result is meant to feel less like a standalone heist movie and more like a natural extension of the series that preceded it.

The Tarkin and Leia question

One of the most discussed aspects of the new cut involves Rogue One's controversial CG recreations of Grand Moff Tarkin and a young Princess Leia. The original film's digital doubles were widely criticized for looking uncanny, and Kaylor is addressing that head-on by replacing them with fan-made renders from deepfake creator Shamook. Those renders have circulated in the fan community for some time, and integrating them into a full film edit represents a notable technical choice for a project of this scope.

Kaylor's track record with Star Wars edits

Kaylor is not new to ambitious Star Wars re-edits. He has previously re-edited versions of the Original Trilogy into their own cohesive films and lined up Revenge of the Sith with the Siege of Mandalore arc from Star Wars: The Clone Wars' final season. Over the past year, he has been steadily building hype for the Rogue One project with frequent trailers and rescored snippets, including a version of the film's finale set to music from Andor.

Why it matters for Star Wars fandom

The Andor Cut is likely to reignite a long-running debate among Star Wars fans: does Rogue One belong to Cassian or Jyn? The original film is built around Jyn's arc, but the show gave Cassian far more screen time and emotional weight. By reframing the entire movie around Cassian's point of view, Kaylor is taking a definitive stance that will inevitably spark conversation. At the same time, the project highlights the increasingly sophisticated role fan editors play in shaping how audiences experience established franchises.

The cut will be available to watch for free on May 25, giving fans a chance to see how Kaylor's vision holds up against the original film and the Andor series it aims to complement.

Tags and context

• star-wars
• rogue-one
• andor
• fan-edit
• david-kaylor
• shamook