I would say that currently space is just the set-up and more and more writers use it as a scene for exploring other things. Few weeks ago I finish a book where one of the many narrative threads talked about an universe where you could turn back time as many times as you wanted and fix your mistakes. It was a hard to reach universe so outside people were trying to get to it. The truth about that place, when it was finally revealed, took me by surprise. It was simple and elegant. Not fancy shamncy theories. Simple. Easy to understand. A real beauty imo.
So no, I believe space is not something that awesome anymore (well, it is) but we can find a lot more easier to get to and new, exciting things closer to us and more "grab-able" than the vast void.
Like the human mind :D. Which sometimes I think is as vast as the void :D. Not to mention having more black holes :D.