There is solid reason to suggest that Desanto had/has a good grasp on the continuation. From what I've seen of his work, he has the "mind's eye view" of what it takes to pull such a production together.
From my own very peripheral viewpoint, the nuts and bolts of a continuation is as much a result of timing as it is of financing. The events of 2001 appear to have missed by three months or less in time the attempt to successfully sell the idea to Fox. So close it was.
I believe that any future effort at a continuation must be a combination of the concerted effort by the fan base as well as the interest of a master storyteller and producer who can mobilize the resources that can bring the production together. I don't like putting all the eggs in the Desanto basket but there it is.
You can see what happens to any franchise when the wrong people/person get(s) hold of the continuation.
Example;
Bewitched
Example;
Lost in Space
Example;
Star Trek
Example;
Star Wars
Example; Skiffy show which will not be named.
There is an example of a continuation that was a semi-success;
Serenity, although I never liked
Firefly.
And of a completion that I thought was something of a success;
The Peacekeeper Wars which I thought was a satisfactory conclusion to
Farscape.
That is my own opinion of the current state of affairs.
As always: