EXCLUSIVE: Buzz about the next James Bond has always existed in its own reality. Everyone’s got an opinion about who should play the super spy, and — even if those views do not align with the tiny pool of tastemakers overseeing the franchise — they are whipped up by bookmakers, agents, the press, and very often the actors themselves. And why not? It’s flattering to be thought of as 007. But not all Bond rumors are created equally. And at least one rumor, which successfully entered the bloodstream of the media last year, was the result of a fairly elaborate...