'The Big Bang Theory's Sheldon Takes a Shot at Ben Affleck's Batman

The Big Bang Theory might be airing its final batch of episodes, but it wasn't afraid to poke fun at one DC Extended Universe star on the way out.

Mild spoilers for tonight's episode of The Big Bang Theory, "The Donation Oscillation" below!

During the episode, Raj asked Howard if his father-in-law's attitude towards him had improved at all. Howard's response was that "He doesn't hate me. He's just disappointed that I'm not any other man on the planet."

That got exactly the kind of quippy response from Sheldon that you'd expect, with him remarking "That's how I feel about Ben Affleck as Batman."

Granted, there is a bit of sting to the joke, seeing as it was confirmed only a week ago that Affleck wouldn't be reprising his role in Matt Reeves' The Batman. The film is expected to have a slightly younger take on the titular Caped Crusader, one that will have an interesting place in the larger DC Films world.

"Right now, I'm involved in The Batman," Reeves said in a recent interview. "What it will be called ultimately, I don't know. Aquaman is going to be very different from the Todd Phillips Joker movie, and that's going to be different from Shazam and Harley Quinn. Warners believes they don't have to try to develop a giant slate that has to have all the plans for how it's going to connect. What they need to try and do is make good movies with these characters."

"It's very much a point of view-driven, noir Batman tale," Reeves said of his take on the Caped Crusader. "It's told very squarely on his shoulders, and I hope it's going to be a story that will be thrilling but also emotional. It's more Batman in his detective mode than we've seen in the films. The comics have a history of that. He's supposed to be the world's greatest detective, and that's not necessarily been a part of what the movies have been. I'd love this to be one where when we go on that journey of tracking down the criminals and trying to solve a crime, it's going to allow his character to have an arc so that he can go through a transformation."

What do you think of The Big Bang Theory's Batman burn? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

The Big Bang Theory airs Thursdays at 8/7c on CBS.