I guess…my thinking is, I don’t really understand the point of removing Hux and then just replacing him with a functionally identical character. There’s no storytelling value in doing it in the theatrical version; and I think there’s even less value in going out of the way to do that again here. And purely in terms of plot, Hux’s death serves absolutely no purpose in the film either.

So, given that, I think I’m leaning towards leaving this scene on the cutting room floor. Overall, I want this edit to feel like a more cohesive follow up to the previous two films; and I think that pointlessly throwing away Hux halfway through goes against that objective. For now, I think I’ll proceed as originally planned, and keep him alive.