We've known for a while now that Rogue One: A Star Wars Story went through some major changes during reshoots. It's believed that Andor showrunner Tony Gilroy was actually brought in to take the helm of those, replacing original director Gareth Edwards (who has remained mostly silent on what happened in the years that have followed).
One quick look at the movie's trailers shows characters alive when they shouldn't have been and even Jyn Erso squaring off with a TIE Fighter. As a result, it's obvious there's a very different ending hidden somewhere in the bowels of Lucasfilm.
During a recent interview (via SFFGazette.com) Cassian Andor actor Diego Luna was asked about how Rogue One ended and the speculation that there might be an alternate ending where he and Jyn Erso survived. We saw their fiery demise after that blast from the Death Star, of course, but the Andor star was quick to point out that there was never a scenario where his Rebel lived to fight another day.
"So this is basically the reason why I was so happy to play this role and so excited about the idea of being part of this universe, because I thought it was so bold, so interesting, and so unique to have an ending like this," he explains in the video below. "And I remember people say we shot different endings and, just to be clear, the day I was offered this role, I knew this was it."
"It was one film and I knew what the end was going to be," Luna adds. "And it’s one of the things that excited me the most, you know, that Star Wars was going to do that, was going to show what sacrifice means, and was going to go for it."
Now, he's getting the chance to tell Cassian's origin story across two twelve-episode seasons, but those of you hoping he'll have miraculously survived Rogue One are going to be disappointed. It's a shame in some ways as we'd love to see what Din Djarin, for example, would make of Cassian, but a future in the Star Wars Universe was never meant to be.
You can watch the full interview below: