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Unless mass numbers of people get equipment to play 3D, I don't see 3D
happening any time soon.  Unless you want to count stacking and/or leaping
as 3D movement, I don't see people handling 3D well when trying to think
what to d.

If you want 'The Next Chess' to encompass 3D, that is fine.  I
personally don't think 'The Next Chess' is going to be reached by
someone saying, 'Why not have it go this way, it is only natural!' 
Well, only what people actually will play is natural.  This is not going
to be forced.  As I see it now, one off games from FIDE are positioning
for 'The Next Chess'.  I believe, unless there is a framework to enable
a wider range of variation to be expressed and tested, you will be looking
at a mix of these games being collectively 'The Next Chess':
1. Chess960
2. Bughouse
3. Speed Chess
4. Some game using the Knight+Bishop/Rook.  Seirawan Chess has a chance of
maybe dong this.
5. Some form of Kriegspiel/Dark Chess.
6. Possibly changes made to the board and play area.

The Next Chess will be one off, unless a framework is developed that is
friendly to the variant community..  This framework should be able to
handle (and also include):
* Multiple board types and sizes
* Reserves (brought in by drops and Gating)
* Mutators
* Multiple accepted pre-set formations (this is a preset configuration
were units are dropped in a set relationship to one another before play
begins).
* Shuffles
* A system to minimize draws, or at least one where a draw condition
scores differently depending on the sides
* The ability to handle a bunch of new pieces and add more as time goes
on
* Preferably a system for being able to evaluate the strength of new
pieces being added in comparison to others.  Besides this, a way to be
able to have people assemble their own armies and have them fair.
* A handicapping system so that newbies and experienced players can play
and compete fairly.
* In a perfect word, a way for different chess variant sides to play each
other (different armies) and able to develop a way of assessing how well
each side did.
* A form of chess that is easier to learn than normal chess, but acts as a
gateway into a wider range of games.
* Equipment to play whatever would be played needs to be readily available
to buy.

I likely did miss more here, but I d believe a SYSTEM for handling all the
above is going to be what is needed for the Next Chess to appear.  Short of
that, what people play, the bulk of which are FIDE fans looking for minor
changes from their normal play, will be what will be here.  And this will
lock out the variant community once more.  And, you will again rationalize
how home made pieces are FANTASTIC and all you need.

So long as people keep thinking that doing ONE thing is all that is
needed, then nothing is going to change.