What could bring a modern battleship-like ship back

Could a modern version of the battleship be built again?

Possibly, but it would likely emerge as a very large missile combatant rather than a heavily armored big-gun ship.

The Kirov class carries only localized armor around vital spaces, making battlecruiser a more useful analogy than battleship. Whether larger combatants return depends on the future threat environment and what navies need from surface ships. Growth in hull size could create a battleship-like political and operational role without reproducing twentieth-century protection schemes. The answer separates historical labels from the features a future design might actually possess.