Warning: minor spoilers for Dragon Ball Super: Super HeroOne of the most beloved characters of the Dragon Ball franchise, Piccolo, will probably get a major role in the upcoming arc of the Dragon Ball Super manga. The comic is currently going through a short hiatus to prepare for its next saga, which fans are speculating will adapt the events of the successful movie Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero. The Dragon Ball official website teases that this could be true, sharing an extensive timeline fully dedicated to Piccolo's history.
Piccolo made his debut in Dragon Ball as the son of a villain by the same name, who wanted to get revenge on the person responsible for his father's defeat, Son Goku. After losing to the Saiyan, Piccolo started on a path of redemption, fighting alongside Goku to protect Earth and even training his rival's son, Gohan, with whom he developed a close bond. Piccolo also learned the truth about his origins as an alien from planet Namek. Over the years Piccolo, while still one of the strongest fighters in the universe, fell behind the Saiyans like Goku and Vegeta, so his fans have been waiting for years to see him rise to prominence again. This happened with the movie Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, which focuses on Gohan and Piccolo and gives both characters a much-awaited major power-up.
The success of the movie, and Piccolo's role in it, generated new attention to the character from fans both old and new. The Dragon Ball official website thus decided to publish a feature dedicated to the complicated history of the character. In fact, the Namekians' complicated biology and methods of reproduction make Piccolo's past a little confusing, especially for new fans. The first Namekian to arrive on Earth escaped a great catastrophe on his planet. After many years, he "purged" the evil from his being, creating one pure creature (Kami) and one wicked, the Great Demon King Piccolo. The Piccolo who currently appears in Dragon Ball hatched from an egg of the Great Demon King (as Namekians do) and inherited his power and will. However, later on, Piccolo merged (again a unique trait of Namekian physiology) first with Nails, a brave and heroic warrior from Namek, and then with Kami himself, gaining a lot of power but also fully transforming into a good and wise warrior.
Fans have been debating if Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero should be considered canon or not. Considering the direct involvement of the franchise's creator Akira Toriyama, and the declarations that the movie takes place after the canon Dragon Ball Super: Broly, Super Hero should be canon too. However, the best confirmation would be if the events or characters of the movie appeared in the manga written by Toriyama and drawn by Toyotarou. The special feature on Piccolo's history on the Dragon Ball website could be a sign that this is about to happen. In the case of Broly, Toriyama and Toyotarou decided to skip adapting the movie in the manga to focus on a whole new story (the Galactic Patrol Prisoner arc), and limited to referencing the events. However, Super Hero brought major changes for Gohan and Piccolo, including the new powerful transformations that finally put them in the same league as Goku and Vegeta.
If Gohan and Piccolo have any kind of important role in the future of the Dragon Ball Super manga, then, it would be impossible or at least unlikely to skip the events of Super Hero. Considering the attention toward Piccolo's history shown by the Dragon Ball official website, then, it is very likely that, when Dragon Ball Super comes back from hiatus, its next arc will focus on Piccolo and Gohan, adapting at least part of the events of the movie Super Hero.
Source: Dragon Ball Official Site.