The fast cars and cool characters of Universal's "Fast & Furious" franchise are getting a fresh new look.

"Saw" mastermind James Wan is taking over as director of "Fast & Furious 7," and star Paul Walker told MTV News that he's "definitely optimistic" about Wan's vision.

"It's hard to go and be objective when you're in it, obviously," Walker said. "We've been doing it for so long that when I look at various takes and setups and shots and everything that he's done, it has a really cool look and a really cool feel."

Of course, it doesn't hurt that Wan is "just a G," Walker admitted. "He's just the coolest guy around."

There seems to be a lot of cool guys around the "Fast" set these days, including newcomers Jason Statham and Kurt Russell, who will play a "father figure" to Dom and Brian.

"Now we got Kurt Russell that comes in and is like, 'I got you boys,' " Walker said. "It's cool having Kurt, 'cause that's his nature anyway. I grew up watching his stuff, 'Tango & Cash' and 'Big Trouble in Little China' some eighteen, hundred, thousand times -- it was one of my favorites as a kid."

As a veteran of the "Fast & Furious" universe, Walker found himself offering words of wisdom to Wan, whose previous credits also include "Insidious" and "The Conjuring."

"I was like, 'I hope you know what you're getting into, because it means far too much to too many people,' " Walker told us, adding: "He gets in, we're probably two weeks in, he goes, 'You know, I told you I knew what you meant but I didn't really know what you meant.'"

"We didn't have enough prep time -- things were just kind of running and gunning just right out of the gate, which is the way we've done them in the past too," he said. "It's an awful lot, what he's taken on."

We can only assume that by "an awful lot," Walker means slick cars, big explosions and adrenaline-fueling action.

"Fast & Furious 7," which is still filming, is due out right in the heart of blockbuster season: July 11. For his part, Walker can be seen opposite Genesis Rodriguez in the indie drama "Hours," out December 13.