I’d like to do a rough version, if I break down and buy it instead of watching on Disney+. There are some things where I have no idea if they could even work, especially the Rebel briefing scene which would be split into two scenes. Each of these would have to convey sufficient cause for Jyn to go to the next location, and there’s some awkwardness in the fact that she must visit Yavin 4 three times for this edit to work.

A sticking point in my head is that the Rebel Alliance at no point says that they have knowledge of actionable intelligence in Saw’s possession, which I feel like might be an issue going into act two. It might feel like the Jedah business is little more than following up on a potential lead rather than a critically important intelligence operation.

The biggest issue though is that this edit is intended to make Jyn a more active protagonist, yet there are few instances of her taking charge before act three. It would be really helpful if she said that she knew where her father was, or if she decided to go herself, or her deciding to go to Jedah so she could discover the final message of her father. Trouble is, those lines don’t exist so it may feel like she’s still just as passive as before.