Fans shouldn’t expect Perfect Cell to return as Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero’s secret villain. When the movie was officially announced, Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama promised an “unexpected” addition which still hasn’t been revealed yet. Many still think the character in question is none other than Perfect Cell.
The decision to bring back Frieza fueled interest in the anime finding a way to resurrect Cell as well. Like Frieza, Cell was a fan-favorite Dragon Ball Z villain and a character viewers have been hoping will get brought back into the picture at some point in the franchise’s future. And with Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero featuring the Red Ribbon Army (Cell’s creators), it was theorized that the scientists would rebuild him somehow and kick off a new battle with the Z-Warriors. The Perfect Cell theories were supported by the reveal that Gohan would be one of two central characters in the movie, with the other being Piccolo. Since Gohan is the hero who originally defeated him, it would indeed make sense if Cell was Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero’s villain.
The real problem with the Perfect Cell theories is that it’s so unlikely that Toei Animation would hide him for so long. With the movie releasing in April, it stands to reason that Cell would have been revealed by this point. After all, Cell is a major character and would be a huge selling point for the film. The prospect of a Gohan-Cell rematch is such an exciting idea that it would be a massive missed opportunity for the studio not to make it the focus of the trailers and the promotional art (if he really was the main villain). Similar to the situations with Frieza in Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection F and Broly in Dragon Ball Super: Broly, the studio would naturally want Cell to take center stage in the marketing.
Instead, Toei Animation has opted to highlight Gohan and Piccolo’s fights with Gamma 1 and Gamma 2, who appear to be the movie’s true antagonists. A third villain emerging to fight them is possible, but it’s hard to imagine this person being Cell. So while it’s true that he technically could work in a story like Super Hero, the chances of this happening are extremely low, especially since the movie’s release is right around the corner.
However, this doesn’t mean Cell will never come back. He could be used as a major villain in the next Dragon Ball anime. In fact, Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero could set up his return with a shocking reveal or a hint about a secret project being worked on by the Red Ribbon Army. A resurrected Cell could potentially get a cameo as a tease for a future story, but anything bigger than that doesn’t appear to be in the cards. Cell coming back to get revenge on Gohan is a scenario for another day.