You just nailed the issue. It's not a matter of whether you're doing a prequel, a remake, or a continuation; with the writers and producers the franchise has now, you'd have the same problem. But put someone like Matalas or Seth McFarlane in charge, and you could get a solid Star Trek series set in any era.

"Led by Anson Mount as Captain Christopher Pike, the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds cast helps tell the story of the USS Enterprise-A before Captain Kirk (William Shatner) took command of the vessel."

To quote Montgomery Scott from TNG episode "Relics", "Enterprise; no bloody A, B, C, or D."

I have no problem with the idea of a show set between TOS and TNG; but I'd rather go with something a bit further back than Picard on the Stargazer. If you're going to feature a ship that's doomed, go with the Enterprise-C and give us the adventures of Captain Garrett or perhaps her predecessor. If you want to avoid the "doomed future" thing, you could go with the Enterprise-B, featuring either Captain Harriman or his successor.

Lewis is on record saying that Susan wasn't necessarily banned from the new Narnia forever; only that her own story was likely to be different, and less of a children's story. I suspect that if he had ended up writing it, the result would have been more like The Screwtape Letters or That Hideous Strength — and those were stories that Lewis had already written.

Doomsday Clock #12 suggested something like this, with a "prediction" of a Secret Crisis where Superman and Thor would go at it, and Doomsday would end up sacrificing himself to save Superman from "a green behemoth" (presumably the Hulk). Although Geoff Johns is no longer with DC Comics, I'd love it if DC vs. Marvel were to incorporate something like this.