I think you have to be careful with predictions like Trek will remain in theatrical films from this point on. Trek has been dead a few times now. It's been solely TV. It's been solely films. I think you're right that we won't see a new series for a while, but 10 years from now is a different thing.
I, too, would have been excited for a movie with an unknown crew. I wouldn't even care which generation it was set in, but I see the marketing problems there. Without the hook of known characters or situations, how would a big-screen adventure be considered more than just another Voyager or DS9 pilot? Hard-core fans would show up, but a mainstream audience wouldn't, I think.
Recasting TNG wouldn't work. The actors are still viable, and they're alive, which is key. No one would believe Shatner as Kirk, fighting bad guys and saving the galaxy, at this point. But Stewart and Frakes could still pull it off, so it's different. Plus, classic Trek without McCoy and Scotty isn't classic Trek, to me.
If there was a name actor who could be cast as captain, I think that might've worked. Cast Tom Hanks (to just pull a name out of the air) as captain in the post-Voyager Starfleet with a couple known supporting characters (Harry Kim, Ezri, Bashir, etc.), and there would've been a chance at success.