People seem to be talking past each other here. I don’t think anyone really wants to install a carbon copy of the Jaws ride. Honestly, it wasn’t very good - the sight lines from the ride vehicle were inconsistent, the forced perspective never worked, the fact that the boats simply travelled in a small circle was blatantly obvious (compare to the successful illusion of travel created by the jungle cruise), and many of the effects were the worst possible combination of very elaborate and not particularly impressive.
That’s the ride. The IP, on the other hand, is one of the most enduring Uni controls and demands a ride as soon as possible. Part of Uni’s problem is that they don’t control a large silo of stable, enduringly resonant IPs that the general public links to the brand and that cry out for theme park lands. Disney certainly does. WB does. Even struggling Paramount is in a better position then Uni in this regard. Of the existing classic studios, I’d argue only Columbia lags behind Uni. This is all tied to the history of the industry, of course - for much of its existence, Universal was a second rate studio kept aloft by Ma and Pa Kettle, Francis the Talking Mule, and Abbott and Costello.
For several reasons, Universal needs to change this, and they’re trying to. The one enduring brand that people link to Universal is the Monsters. In many ways they can and should function like Warner’s Looney Toons or Disney’s Mickey and friends. After failing to exploit them properly for decades, Universal parks are finally properly leveraging this advantage.
But that’s not enough. Bear in mind we’re not just talking about the parks here - modern Hollywood studios are, at heart, IP warehouses. They need to leverage core properties and link them to the brand in the public consciousness. Beyond the Monsters, Universal has identified four core properties - BttF, Jaws, Kong, and ET (if I was in charge Id add Psycho, but that’s a trickier property). Now the physical space of the park needs to be used for the larger mission of making those properties key to the Universal brand. They need attractions, lands, restaurants, merch, etc. It’s a two way street - a major Jaws (or any IP) attraction doesn’t just draw on the property’s cultural footprint, it contributes to it significantly. This is an overlooked key to the longevity of many Disney properties.
Anyway, Jaws would make a great flume, and the Studios need a flume.