Oreo the Raccoon, who served as the model for “Guardians of the Galaxy” character Rocket, has passed away after a short illness.
The Facebook fan page for all things “Guardians” announced the news on Thursday, after his family took to the social media platform to announce his death.
“Our hearts are broken as we have lost our best friend, our Guardian of our Galaxy Mr Oreo Raccoon,” Quinta Layla wrote. “Oreo passed away in the early hours of this morning after a very short illness. Many thanks to our wonderful vets for their compassion and care.”
“Rest in Peace to Oreo the Raccoon, the real-life model for Rocket Raccoon,” added the “Guardians” Facebook page. “Oreo was also the Raccoon that went to the red carpet with ‘GotG’ director James Gunn when the movie debuted in Hollywood.”
Oreo helped animators capture motions and behaviors for Rocket.
Rocket Raccoon was first created by Bill Mantlo and Keith Giffen for Marvel Preview #7 in 1976. His name was inspired by the 1968 Beatles’ song “Rocky Raccoon.” He then appeared in in the 2008 relaunch of the superhero team Guardians of the Galaxy. He showed up next in the 2014 film, as well as the 2017 sequel and “Avengers: Infinity War,” voiced by Bradley Cooper. He will next be seen in “Avengers: Endgame.”
See the Facebook posts below.