A significant time skip may occur between the events of Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero and the movie that preceded it. The previous movie, Dragon Ball Super: Broly took place shortly after the Tournament of Power, which was the last battle the Z-Warriors participated in during the Dragon Ball Super anime. In canon, Broly is also set before the new manga sagas involving Moro and Granolah.
Unlike the Dragon Ball Z sagas which were spread out so much that the anime spanned over 15 years, Dragon Ball Super was limited to a smaller timeframe. Kicking off four years after Buu’s defeat. Dragon Ball Super took Goku and the Z-Warriors on a number of adventures, but not much time passed between sagas. Overall, the heroes only aged about two years over the course of Dragon Ball Super. That being said, it looks like the second movie to carry the “Dragon Ball Super” label is about to make a huge jump forward in time.
At San Diego Comic-Con 2021, Toei Animation revealed concept art for some of the heroes featured in the Broly sequel, titled Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero. One of the characters shown off, Pan, looks to be a great deal older than she was when she last appeared in the anime. In Dragon Ball Super’s final episode, Pan was just a toddler and not yet two years old, considering that she was born before the Golden Frieza Saga. However, artwork of Pan shows her in a school uniform of some kind. Her appearance draws parallels to how Gohan looked in the Saiyan Saga, so it seems likely that she’s between four and six years old in Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero.
Regardless, Super Hero’s Pan is a good bit older than she was when the anime ended. Obviously, three or four years have gone by since Android 17 won the Tournament of Power and Broly’s defeat at the hands of Goku and Vegeta. That much time passing has major implications for the main characters, especially in terms of their ages and power levels.
For example, a 3- to 4-year time skip would naturally have a big effect on more than just Pan. Goten and Trunks kept their Buu Saga designs in Dragon Ball Super, but such a big leap ahead could call for all new looks and more mature personalities for these characters. After all, they could be in their late teens at this point. They should no longer have the appearances of pre-teen children. Assuming they’re still training, they might even be Super Saiyan 2-level by now. As for the other Z-Warriors, they too should have progressed by a wide margin. Goku could have already mastered Ultra Instinct, Gohan may have narrowed the gap between him and his father, and all the other Z-Warriors could have made notable improvements as well. If that much time has passed, Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero will have an opportunity to change the status quo for several of its core and supporting characters.