The actor joins the film — already in post-production — in the narrator role. Matthew Vaughn directs his and Jane Goldman's screenplay for Paramount Pictures.

"Stardust," based on the Neil Gaiman graphic novel, "centers on a young man who promises his beloved that he will retrieve a fallen star by venturing into the Faerie realm, where he encounters witches, goblins, gnomes, talking animals and evil trees," according to the trade mag.

The film, which stars Claire Danes, Robert De Niro, Michelle Pfeiffer and Charlie Cox and McKellen, is scheduled to be released July 27.

The knighted McKellen, last seen on Broadway in Dance of Death, won a Tony Award for his turn as Salieri in Amadeus. He also appeared in his autobiographical work A Knight Out at the Lyceum Theatre. The actor is also known for his film work in the "X-Men" and "The Lord of the Rings" trilogies, "The Da Vinci Code," "Gods and Monsters," "Bent" and "Six Degrees of Separation."

"Stardust" can be found on the web at stardustmovie.com.