The name Is Taylor-Johnson, Aaron Taylor-Johnson: Or at least it is, according to VegasInsider. Other insiders doubt it. George Rose/Getty Images; Dominique Charriau/WireImage Share on Facebook Share on X Share to Flipboard Send an Email Show additional share options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Tumblr Share on Whats App Print the Article Post a Comment Vegas Says Taylor-Johnson Is the Next Bond. Don't Bet on It Logo text James Bond certainly knows his way around a casino, but even he might raise an eyebrow at who oddsmakers are betting will play him next. According to the latest probabilities from gambling site VegasInsider, Aaron Taylor-Johnson is now the clear favorite to slip into 007's tux, with odds hovering around 2.4-to-1. But before anyone bets the house on the 35-year-old Kick-Ass actor, industry sources note the game hasn't really begun - the cards haven't even been dealt. In fact, Taylor-Johnson's frontrunner status may owe less to spy-craft than to spin-craft. His odds have been clearly boosted by a string of U.K. press leaks - most notably in The Sun, which has been touting him as the next Bond ever since Daniel Craig holstered his Walther PPK. In late 2022, the tabloid quoted "insiders" claiming Taylor-Johnson had "impressed" producer Barbara Broccoli during a "top-secret screen test" at Pinewood Studios. Related Stories Movies 'Game of Thrones' Actor Pilou Asbæk Joins Benedict Cumberbatch in Cary Fukunaga's 'Blood on Snow' (Exclusive) Movies Piper Perabo Says There's Been "Some Discussion" About a 'Coyote Ugly' Sequel: "Things Are Moving Around" A few months later, another so-called insider claimed: "Bond is Aaron's job, should he wish to accept it." But Rambling's own insiders point out a few issues with that narrative. Historically, Bond screen tests are tightly controlled 007 rituals - usually involving a scene out of From Russia With Love - and they don't happen until a director is on board. And in 2022, there was no director. (Denis Villeneuve wasn't hired until June.) Besides, even if Taylor-Johnson had knocked Broccoli's socks off at that supposed 2022 test, that shouldn't be influencing his odds in 2025 - Broccoli and her half brother Michael G. Wilson sold the franchise to Amazon earlier this year. These days, it's Amy Pascal's socks that need knocking off. She's running Bond now. Vegas handicappers also might have been swayed by a round of recent online tea-leaf reading after Taylor-Johnson's auspiciously timed deal to become a global ambassador for Omega - the official Bond timepiece - back in May. That was seen by some as a clear sign the role was his. It wasn't. Otherwise, past Omega ambassadors like Nicole Kidman, George Clooney and Zoë Kravitz would've been zipping around in Aston Martins years ago. What VegasInsider isn't factoring in is that all of the above - the leaks, the whispers, the watch deal - might actually be hurting Taylor-Johnson's chances. As Rambling's insider puts it: "The more you push for the role, the more it can backfire. Wanting it too much can be the best way not to get it." RealReal Robbery Was Really Real. But SMPD Says Nothing to See Here Times are so tough these days, even the criminals are thrifting. On July 18, in the latest affront to Santa Monica, more than a dozen masked marauders stormed the RealReal secondhand luxury boutique on 26th Street - near the Brentwood border - where celebrities from Kim Kardashian and Julianne Moore to Parker Posey and Kate Moss are said to unload their no-longer-needed Hermès, Cartier and Rolex accessories. It was a brazen, broad-daylight smash-and-grab: Surveillance cameras captured the crew looting high-end resale items and loading them into getaway cars with the license plates removed. This marks the third flash-mob-style hit on the same store in three years - but unlike the previous break-ins, no arrests have yet been made. In fact, investigators are now looking into whether the crew might be linked to a similar gang that hit an Anaheim jeweler just one day earlier. In that case, thieves wielding hammers and pickaxes were chased off when the store owner fired a warning shot. A spokesperson for the Santa Monica Police Department tells Rambling that detectives are "aware of the recent incident in Anaheim and are coordinating with law enforcement partners to assess any potential connections" - adding, without prompting, that any perceived increase in criminal activity is purely imaginary. "We have not seen a recent spike in organized retail thefts in Santa Monica," the spokesperson insists. - MERLE GINSBERG A Jaw-Dropping Screening at Comic-Con ... Literally For once, the most talked-about title at San Diego's Comic-Con wasn't a Marvel or DC tentpole - it was a dystopian horror story so graphically violent, organizers literally covered it up. The 6,500 attendees who turned out to see footage of The Long Walk, Lionsgate's adaptation of Stephen King's 1979 novel about 100 teenage boys f