[goto11]

> forget about rain and/or tone down the epic action set piece, etc.

But this is the stuff which make the movie cinematic and draws the audience. Hiring a stunt man which looks more like the lead might not be possible - historically this have been solved by filming stunt scenes at a distance, from the back etc. But this makes the scenes less engaging.

A set with full crew and actors present is extremely expensive. For any mistake which can be fixed with VFX rather then a reshoot, it is probably the prudent financial decision to use VFX.

[toast0]

> historically this have been solved by filming stunt scenes at a distance, from the back etc.

Those were often done, but other options that increased engagement were having actors do their own stunts (not always appropriate) or casting stunt workers into bigger parts.

[goto11]

You can't have lead actors perform actual dangerous stunts (despite what marketing might tell you). The financial risks are far to high and insurance would never accept that. Just imagine the financial loss if the actor is not able to complete the movie due to an accident. It only really happens in B-movies and movies produced outside of Hollywood.