“The Wonder Boy of Whistle Stop” follows 84-year-old Bud Threadgoode, the son of Ruth. With his daughter Ruthie, Bud travels back to Whistle Stop one last time to visit friends old and new.
Flagg said the hardships of the past years had her eager to visit the small town once again and the simple, slow pace of life there. She figured other folks were probably feeling the same way.
“During all this upheaval in the world, the political upheaval and all this stuff, people are feeling a little rattled,” Flagg told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “They sort of want to go back home, you know? To a time when it was different. I just thought, I want to revisit that little town and revisit those characters that I love. And it was like a comfort type thing.”