One of the most iconic characters of the World of Warcraft franchise is Sylvanas Windrunner, the main antagonist of WoW Shadowlands. A cosplay by Cinderys injects some new life into the Banshee Queen.
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World of Warcraft: Shadowlands has become the biggest event in this year’s Warcraft calendar. Breaking Blizzard’s pre-sale records for the franchise’s expansion packs, it’s safe to say that fans and onlookers alike are excited about this newest chapter in the Warcraft story.
The events of Shadowlands take place after the Battle for Azaroth, and see players travel deep into the Shadowlands to thwart their undead nemesis; fan-favorite archer turned Banshee Queen Sylvanas Windrunner. The Shadowlands themselves have come to represent the game’s equivalent of the afterlife, and while intriguing, are clearly home to a plethora of new, dangerous enemies.
However, Parisian cosplayer Cinderys (Sonia Grillet) has helped to blur the veil between the real world and the WoW universe by creating a stunning cosplay rendition of the Shadowlands antagonist.
Becoming the Banshee Queen
At first glance, Cinderys could easily be Sylvanas – or at least an illustration of her. Framed against the murky background of the Shadowlands, Cinderys is adorned in corrupted high eleven armor sporting Sylvanas’ masterfully crafted longbow. Ash blond hair cascades down her shoulders, providing some welcome respite to the dark, shadowy surroundings. However, getting to this point clearly wasn’t easy.
In a series of WIP photos, Cinderys shows the step by step process that led to the creation of the iconic Dark Lady, with one image showing the incomplete bust piece that lies at the center of Sylvanas’ armor.
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A second photograph shows some of the behind the scenes work that went into the iconic longbow. With the finalized product sitting next to a blueprint of how to build it, it’s proof of just how much work has gone into the creation of the famous weapon.
With 3,000 likes on the image alone, Cinderys cosplay certainly attracted attention. The cosplay queen shared a post on Twitter showing the Blizzard liked the Tweet of Cinderys as Sylvanas. Cinderys’ excitement is infectious; seeing Blizzard respond to her cosplays caused a wave of appreciative fan comments and support.
Thaaaank youuuuu @Blizzard_Ent 😱❤I'm soooo happy (and ready for Shadowlands)!!! 😊#Cosplay #Warcraft #Sylvanas #warcraftcosplay #Shadowlands #sylvanascosplay #Diablo pic.twitter.com/XhIybHanL7
— Cinderys (@CinderysCosplay) September 18, 2020
Blizzard pick up Cinderys as their official WoW cosplayer
That’s not the only thing though. Upon Shadowlands’ release Blizzard allowed Cinderys to literally become the undead archer by making her the expansion’s official Sylvanas cosplayer. Featured alongside HartiganCosplay, Cinderys literally has become Sylvanas.
In #Shadowlands, the veil between life and death is no more.
Sylvanas cosplay by @CinderysCosplay and Bolvar cosplay by @HartiganCosplay pic.twitter.com/kqnuE6LF5f
— World of Warcraft (@Warcraft) November 12, 2020
It’s amazing to see the transition that Cinderys has made in such a short space of time. From being an amazing instagram cosplayer to now being a part of Blizzard’s official marketing campaign for Shadowlands, she’s an inspiration to cosplayers everywhere. Push hard enough, and maybe one day you’ll also get to be a terrifying banshee too!