Forget Netflix: These Cosplayers Nail Ciri and Geralt Better Than the Show
Netflix poured millions into bringing Ciri to life. Meanwhile, cosplayers do it with fabric, resin, and a borderline obsessive passion for The Witcher 3. The wild part? Their results often feel more convincing than anything the show has managed.
From casting controversies in 2019 to a divisive season 4 coming in late 2025, Netflix’s The Witcher has never truly won over gamers. In contrast, cosplayers like KaddiChan—whose Ciri racked up over 4,000 upvotes in January 2025—and Maul Cosplay, the gold standard for Geralt, prove you can capture CD Projekt Red’s exact game aesthetic. With The Witcher 4 aiming for 2028 with Ciri as the lead, these cosplayers are already sharpening their swords.
Image credit: Steampunk Avenue
KaddiChan: how an anime cosplayer became the go-to Ciri
In January 2025, German cosplayer KaddiChan—who has Russo-Kazakh roots—posted a video of her Ciri cosplay from The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt on Reddit. Over 4,000 upvotes later, the community’s verdict was clear. Comments ranged from disbelief to pure meme: “She looks like a Ciri action figure!”, “This video feels like a character select screen,” and the inevitable, “Netflix should just hire KaddiChan to play Ciri!”
https://www.reddit.com/r/cosplay/comments/1i50ka2/my_ciri_cosplay_usually_i_cosplay_anime/
by u/ in /r/cosplay/
What makes this performance even more impressive is KaddiChan’s journey. She started cosplaying in late 2014 with a Shingeki no Kyojin character—a first attempt she herself calls a flop. She went pro in 2020, specializing in anime characters for years before diving into the world of video games. Switching from stylized 2D to a hyper-detailed 3D model was a whole new technical challenge. Every belt accessory, every silver strand, every armor stitch had to match the game’s textures—a far cry from anime’s simplified style. That a cosplayer used to playing Ciri in The Witcher 3 could nail it this perfectly on her first try says a lot about the quality of CD Projekt Red’s source material.
Maul Cosplay: the Geralt who outshines Henry Cavill
KaddiChan isn’t alone. Since 2021, German cosplayer Maul Cosplay—real name Ben—has been widely considered the definitive Geralt of Rivia by much of the community, according to Game Rant. As a professional stuntman, he brings a physicality few cosplayers can match: believable combat stances, expert swordplay, and spot-on facial expressions. His Geralt doesn’t just look the part—he moves like him, too.
https://www.reddit.com/r/witcher/comments/1wp6g1m/filmed_maul_cosplays_incredible_geralt_cosplay_on
by u/ in r/witcher
His collaboration with Good Smile Company, the Japanese maker of official figures, highlights a telling trend: when the industry itself admits a cosplayer embodies a character better than some big-budget adaptations, the line between fan art and official canon starts to blur. Maul Cosplay has also teamed up with other The Witcher cosplayers to recreate entire game scenes—at a level of accuracy Netflix never even tried to reach.
Why cosplayers rival official productions
The gap between Netflix’s series and top-tier cosplay isn’t just about budget. It’s about approach. Cosplayers work straight from the game’s 3D models: they replicate the textures, the exact armor proportions, the precise color tones. Netflix, on the other hand, made adaptation choices that deliberately stray from the game—choices that sparked backlash at every stage of production.
The timeline of controversies says it all:
- September 2018: The “Netflix Adaptation” meme hits Reddit, comparing manga, anime, and Netflix’s take—the latter always seen as the weakest, often illustrated with cosplay photos.
- July 2019: Freya Allan’s casting as Ciri splits fans—too young for gamers used to Witcher 3’s adult Ciri, too old for readers of Andrzej Sapkowski’s novels.
- Late October 2025: Season 4 reignites fan anger with Ciri scenes many see as out of character.
Ironically, these controversies only fuel The Witcher cosplay’s popularity. According to The Sword Stall, Geralt remained one of the most popular cosplay characters in 2025, with season 4 keeping him in the mainstream spotlight while pushing hardcore fans to create even more game-accurate portrayals.
The Witcher 4: Ciri takes the lead, a new challenge for cosplayers
CD Projekt Red confirmed in August 2026 that The Witcher 4 is targeting a 2028 release window, with Ciri as the main character. Narrative director Philipp Weber responded to skeptical fans in late August, saying he understood their concerns and that the team’s job was “to prove Ciri will be a worthy protagonist.” This hero switch in The Witcher 4 means a new version of Ciri—likely older, with new gear and a redesigned look.
For cosplayers, that’s a whole new playground. KaddiChan, now a regular on the European convention circuit—MAG-C 2025 and 2026 in Germany, Geek Village Summer Festival 2025 in Belgium, SAMTCon 2026—is among those who could jump on this new incarnation as soon as the first gameplay drops. The history of The Witcher cosplay proves fans don’t wait for official adaptations to bring their favorite characters to life.
When CD Projekt Red finally reveals Ciri’s final design for The Witcher 4, odds are the first spot-on cosplays will hit Reddit long before Netflix—or any other studio—even thinks about adapting her. The ball’s in CDPR’s court, but cosplayers already have their scissors at the ready.
