Perhaps the Goldilocks mixture will be languages that allow type annotations but don't require it (e.g. Typescript, Elixir, Racket, and I think this is how Python's works).
Yeah, I've been using Python's gradual typing for a while. It's not perfect, but I'm excited for the possibilities. But the real test is to see what it's like on a large, long-lived project, so I'm keeping any open mind. I figure if that doesn't work fully, it'll still be a nice step toward things that can be pulled out as isolated services.