For some reason I am thinking in H3 Valhalla was supposed to be it's replacement... But it is totally not the same. I think that map ("Blood Gulch") should be a chant of sorts, echoing through every Halo game. It is not broke. Why fix? Everyone consistently voted for it.
Some edits are definitely cool though.
Alright yep... this from a Halo wiki entry for "Blood Gulch":
"The Blood Gulch concept was later reworked into Valhalla for Halo 3, featuring a similar size and layout, but with dramatic changes in the terrain and the base structures. Standoff has been called another Blood Gulch successor, given its similar terrain, but features a different layout. A more direct remake of Blood Gulch is a popular request as a Halo 3 level, though Bungie have stated repeatedly that because Valhalla is the successor to Blood Gulch, there will not be a direct remake in Halo 3."
It is not the same. I actually played H3 the least amount of time of any Halo (never touched ODST... perhaps regretfully). I wonder if no Blood Gulch had anything to do with it. Given the chance of it or any other Reach map I chose it.