I never really got the argument against augments (in universe as well as from the writers).
All the humanoids in Star Trek are the result of genetic augmentation anyway.
The whole “eugenic wars” thing always felt like a cop-out because the writers were to afraid to tackle a controversial topic during the actual show and pushed it into the past in a “we already had this discussion” kind of way.
With all the edgy things directors want to do these days, making a pre-star trek eugenics wars movie with only small nods to the franchise might be a hit without stomping all over trek as a whole. (Nods like a Montana research facility with a blueprint in the background) All pre-warp.
At the end, have a line that says “Continued in Star Trek: First Contact”