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Fantasy and super hero stories have a habit of invoking the Not Quite Dead trope whenever there's no body.
Are there any hints (Word of God included) that Hela actually survived her encounter with Surtur at the end of Thor: Ragnarok? Personally, I want her to be dead from this. Way too much was sacrificed just to have her come back.
Like Odin, Loki, and Thor, Hela is a literal god, which means she can't be killed easily. In fact, Thor doesn't even really try to kill her himself. Instead, he resurrects Surtur, a fire demon determined to bring forth Ragnarok (the destruction of Asgard), and allows him to destroy the land of Asgard, with Hela still standing on it.
In no scene did the audience get a good look at Hela's dead body or at her in her moment of death. Yes, Asgard was reduced to space dust, but that doesn't mean Hela was too. Her sorcery far eclipsed Loki's skills, and he faked his own death right in front of his brother. That said, it is worth noting that the destruction of Asgard itself could very well be enough to kill Hela, even if we didn't see her physical body die. It's stated multiple times in the film that Hela draws her power from Asgard — the physical place, not the people. She needs to go to Asgard to regain her power and maintain it throughout the film. With Asgard now destroyed, so is the source of Hela's power.
Hela had an arc in which Odin killed her to save Thor's life, but brought her back to life "to restore the natural balance and death." So, Hela coming back from the dead would not be unheard of.
As of now, Hela is dead, according to her Marvel Cinematic Universe page:
Eventually however, Thor returned with the newly formed Revengers and then reengaged Hela, which had resulted in Loki unleashing Surtur, who then destroyed Asgard by finally causing Ragnarök and also killed Hela as a result.
In an interview with Collider, actress Cate Blanchett stated she didn't know if she was returning to the MCU and that it remained in the hands of the "big bosses."
I don’t know. I suppose it depends what they end up with. You never know. I’ve had an absolute ball but it doesn’t mean my work is any good. Having fun doesn’t necessarily mean quality… I don’t know how to answer that question… That’s up to the big bosses.
Hela could make a return to the MCU, however, as of now, she has been killed off by Surtur.
