Paul was one of my most anticipated films of Comic-Con and it didn't disappoint.  How could it?  You had director Greg Mottola (Superbad, Adventureland) and the incredible cast of Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Jason Bateman, Bill Hader, Sigourney Weaver, Joe Lo Truglio, Jeffrey Tambor, and Seth Rogen.  Throw in a solid sizzle reel that delighted the audience to no end, and you have a panel that delivered.

Hit the jump to find out what went down at the Comic-Con panel for Paul.

Pegg and Frost told us that the idea for Paul came about while they were filming Shaun of the Dead.  During the scene where they're throwing records at zombies, the bad weather caused producer Nira Park to say that she wished they would shoot someplace where it was always sunny.  From there, Pegg and Frost began to spitball an idea about a desert and an alien.

Each panelists proceeded to describe their character in the movie.  Bateman told us he played the bad guy of the movie.  He's the one hunting down Paul and described his character as "Yaphet Kotto in Midnight Run minus 100 pounds and lighter skin."  Hader and Lo Truglio play his back-up.  Hader quips that he's back playing a bad authority figure in a Greg Mottola movie.  Weaver says she's a "voice" in the movie who's revealed as a pivotal figure.  The footage later showed us that she's Bateman's boss (or at least that's who she appears to be…).  Tambor plays "Adam Shadowchild", a pompous sci-fi writer.  And Rogen plays Paul.  He jokes that he studied with Andy Serkis for years and a little bit with Doug Jones.

We were then treated to a three-minute, thirty-second sizzle reel.  It was funny (Paul has a tendency to make people faint every time they see him) and looks like an action-packed road-trip comedy.  You don't see many of those.  The only part I didn't like was this one image from the trailer.  I don't trust that character sitting behind Pegg and Frost…

They were asked a question about how they felt about their success preventing them from walking the exhibitor's floor.  Here were some of the funnier responses:

- Hader: I walked the floor and no one gave a fuck!

- Tambor: I walked the floor and people thought I was Dr. Phil.

- Rogen: It's tough because people think I look like J.J. Abrams.  They don't give a fuck about me, but they love that guy.

They wanted to shoot Comic-Con here instead of New Mexico, but then Frost quoted the San Diego Fire Marshall:  No Fucking Way.

And as to what their favorite Comic-Con moment was, all of them said that speaking on the panel was on the list.  Pegg also noted that when he got a hug from Ken Foree while at Comic-Con promoting Shaun.  Hader also mentioned the time he met Neil Gaiman back in 2000.  Weaver noted when she was first introduced to Comic-Con back when Galaxy Quest came here.  And Rogen? "A few years ago, I smoked a joint with Ed Brubaker and Method Man.  Fuck yeah, Comic-Con!"  And so a great panel went out on a great joke.

Paul hits theaters on March 18, 2011.

For more info on Paul, check out our coverage from Steve's set visit:

Collider Goes to the Set of Greg Mottola’s PAUL Starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost

Simon Pegg and Nick Frost On Set Interview PAUL

Director Greg Mottola On Set Interview PAUL

Producer Nira Park On Set Interview PAUL

Production Designer Jefferson Sage On Set Interview PAUL

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