In a whopping seven-figure buy, Warner Bros. has nabbed "Inception," a script written by Christopher Nolan as his next directing vehicle.

Deal allows WB to keep the director of its 2008 top-grosser "The Dark Knight" in the studio fold and gives WB a big film for summer 2010.

Nolan will begin production this summer on the project that Warner describes as a contemporary sci-fi actioner set within the architecture of the mind.

Nolan will produce with Emma Thomas, his longtime producing partner.

Nolan "continually raises the bar with each movie he makes," said Jeff Robinov, president of the Warner Bros. Pictures Group.

The studio hopes to bring Nolan back for a third Batfilm, but the filmmaker hasn't yet committed to doing that pic. "Dark Knight" has raked in nearly $1 billion in worldwide B.O. since its release last summer.

Nolan is repped by CAA.

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