The Travis Fear The Walking Dead death was one of the most shocking in a franchise filled with those moments. Few predicted the runaway success of AMC’s The Walking Dead series when it was first announced. Based on the cult graphic novel by Robert Kirkman, the show follows a group of survivors as they adjust to a world turned upside down by a zombie outbreak. While the show weathered some behind-the-scene issues during its first few seasons — such as the firing of original showrunner Frank Darabont — the great Walking Dead cast of characters, soap opera plotlines, and intense gore kept fans hooked week after week.
However, like the comic, The Walking Dead series wasn’t afraid to kill off major characters with little warning either. The show's continued success led to a prequel series called Fear The Walking Dead, with the first season airing in 2015. Fear The Walking Dead introduced new lead characters, Travis Manawa and Madison Clark (Kim Dickens), a couple who tried to keep their family together in the early days of the zombie outbreak. Much like Rick Grimes, Travis was Fear The Walking Dead's moral compass, but he gradually adjusted to the harshness of the new world. This makes the Travis death in Fear the Walking Dead even more confusing.
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Travis' Fear The Walking Dead Death Explained
Travis Took A Bullet To The Neck Trying To Keep Alicia Safe
The Travis Fear the Walking Dead death scene is quite abrupt. In Fear the Walking Dead season 3, episode 2, “The New Frontier,” Travis is shot in the neck while he and Madison’s daughter Alicia escape in a helicopter. Travis – who was secretly bitten before in Fear the Walking Dead – decides to jump out of the helicopter rather than put the other survivors in danger. Travis’s death was a turning point for Fear The Walking Dead and proved the show wasn’t afraid to take risks. His demise later empowered Madison to take charge and do what she felt necessary to survive in the new world.
Those following the career of Cliff Curtis offscreen probably foresaw the Travis Fear the Walking Dead death scene coming, however. It was announced in 2017 that the actor was joining the cast of James Cameron’s Avatar sequels as Tonowari, leader of Pandora’s Reef people. Curtis wouldn’t have been able to split his time between filming the Avatar sequels and Travis on Fear The Walking Dead, and a significant role in a blockbuster movie franchise would always be the more tempting offer. Travis is missed by Fear The Walking Dead viewers, but his loss helped push the show in intriguing new directions.
Other Shocking Character Deaths On Fear The Walking Dead
Travis Wasn't The Only Character Killed Off Unexpectedly
The Travis Fear the Walking Dead death scene isn't the only shocking demise in the series. While season 6 featured some of the most unexpected character deaths, there are more surprising fatalities peppered throughout the show. Particularly tragic is the scene during which Travis' son Chris dies in Fear the Walking Dead season 2.
No one could've predicted his death at the hands of two murderers. Chris' dramatic coming-of-age moments added a lot of down-to-earth beats to the gory and violence filled Fear the Walking Dead, so it remained sad to see him go. Travis' son dies after Brandon and Derek shoot him in the head in the wake of his car accident.
Additionally, how Jeremiah Otto Sr. died in Fear the Walking Dead was totally unexpected. While he and Madison argue, a gun is dropped on the table. Mid-sentence, Nick picks up the gun and shoots Jeremiah in the head. This was highly unexpected, as previous episodes showed that Jeremiah was mentoring Nick, proving an allegiance between the two.
In addition, Virginia's Fear the Walking Dead season 6 death came through unforeseen means. She was a formidable antagonist throughout season 6 but was eventually captured by Morgan and given a deal that she and her daughter should be evicted to the wasteland. Before that deal could go through, June assassinated her in cold blood.
Why Travis Was Killed Off On Fear The Walking Dead
The Plans For Travis Were Changed To Allow Room For Other Characters
Fear The Walking Dead showrunner Dave Erickson admitted that Travis was supposed to last longer on the series, but his early exit allowed other characters to have the spotlight (via Looper). In fact, many viewers would argue that Fear the Walking Dead actually improved in quality following the major character's death. Here is what Erickson had to say about the death:
"His attitude was, had I protected my son, had I refused to let my son go, he would be alive right now. So enough of morality, enough of this sort of ethical barometer that I've been following. He's going to do for the surrogate son what he failed to do for his biological son. I think what it came down to was — and this is what it always comes down to when there's a death of a character — is what is the impact that death has on the surroundings? What impact would Travis' death have on Madison, have on Alicia and have on Nick, and how does that drive a story?"
While killing off Travis was clearly prompted by Curtis earning bigger roles in Hollywood movies, Erickson clearly lays out how it was the best way for the story to progress too. While many viewers think that Travis' death came out of nowhere, it was the perfect way to end Travis' redemption story.
The character sacrifices himself to save Nick, which was the most important thing Travis could have done, and it's something that Travis didn't do for his own son. In that respect, even though Erickson admitted that there were other story ideas where Travis didn't die, the character's death was ultimately the fitting end for Fear the Walking Dead season 3.
What Cliff Curtis Has Done Since Fear The Walking Dead
Leaving The Walking Dead Spinoff Led To More Opportunities
When it comes to the Fear the Walking Dead cast in the shows earlier seasons, the Travis actor Cliff Curtis was one of the most experienced and recognizable names on the roster. The New Zealand actor had been in multiple movies and TV shows prior to Fear the Walking Dead, including 1993's The Piano, 2001's Training Day, and the 2002 Arnold Schwarzenegger movie Collateral Damage. As such, it's no surprise that his career didn't stop or even slow after Travis was killed off in The Walking Dead spinoff, and Cliff Curtis has gone on to have several notable roles after leaving Fear the Walking Dead on both the big and small screen.
While Fear the Walking Dead's Travis was perhaps his most notable recent role when it comes to TV shows (aside from voicing Paul in Invincible season 2), on the big screen it's a completely different story. The year after he left Fear the Walking Dead, Cliff Curtis went on to appear in the 2018 blockbuster shark movie The Meg. He played James "Mac" Mackreides, a long-time friend of Jason Statham's lead character Jonas, and the operator of the Mana One facility that comes under assault from the titular giant shark. He later went on to reprise the role of Mac in 2023's The Meg 2: The Trench.
Appearing in a movie as highly publicized as The Meg was a step up in Cliff Curtis's career to be sure, but it's also not his most prominent post-Fear the Walking Dead either. He also played Jonah Hobbs in 2019's Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, and Billy Freeman in The Shining sequel, Doctor Sleep, the same year. Of course, his highest profile appearance when it comes to big-budget feature-length blockbusters was as Tonowari, chief of the Matkayina, in 2022's Avatar: The Way of Water.
Additionally, Cliff Curtis has made the odd appearance on TV shows in recent years too when not starring in movies, as he played Poseidon in the Netflix show KAOS. So, while the death of Travis in Fear the Walking Dead was a shock for viewers, and fans were sad to see Cliff Curtis exit the show, his stint on the TWD spinoff ending prematurely didn't impact his career. What's more, the show managed to cope just fine without Travis, especially when characters from The Walking Dead like Morgan became series mainstays.
