Fear the Walking Dead season 3: Is Cliff Curtis leaving?

Following tonight’s Fear the Walking Dead two-hour premiere, it is fair to ask one key question: Is Cliff Curtis leaving the show? Is the zombie drama changing the game once more?

Back when it was first announced that Curtis was joining the Avatar universe, there was speculation then about whether or not he would return to the show. That speculation turned out to be fact over the premiere episode, where it was revealed that Travis was dead as a result of getting shot, and then making her he was in a place where he couldn’t turn and cause problems for anyone else. He sacrifices himself and makes sure that Alicia doesn’t have to do anything more for him.

In speaking further on this subject to Entertainment Weekly, showrunner Dave Erickson confirms that Travis is no longer among the living:

“Travis is dead. I think what was important from the perspective of the audience as well as for the characters, it was something worse again in the fact that we thought we’ve achieved some level of safety. We thought we were going to be okay, and then out of nowhere in the random violence of the apocalypse, suddenly Travis is taken from us. And in his last action, he realizes how bad his wound is before Alicia does and he knows that life is seeping out of him and it’s only a matter of time before he dies, and he doesn’t want her to be responsible for putting him down.

“So when he knows his time is up, he goes for the door and he makes his way out with the intention of throwing himself out. We tried to address that later on because I think Alicia’s concern subsequent to the helicopter going down is, did he indeed die? Was there enough damage done to his brain to make sure he didn’t turn? Is he still wandering around out there? And Jake says the height was too much and I think that’s what we need to believe. The height from which he fell and the velocity and the violence of that is going to do enough trauma to his brain that he would die. So, Travis sadly is gone.”

Erickson also said that Curtis handled the news just fine, which shouldn’t be a shock given that he does have such a prominent new film role. This death also means that the rest of the cast is further fluttering in the wind. This is the move that really does prove that anything can happen, and it may be an even bigger shocker than the majority of the deaths that are out there.

What did you think about the Fear the Walking Dead premiere, and the Travis shocker? Be sure to share your thoughts below!

Meanwhile, head over to the link here to get a preview for what is coming up next on the AMC show. (Photo: AMC.)