The Mix Panel Series - The Sound of Mission: Impossible: A Legacy of Adrenaline-Fueled Effects and Classic, Tension-Filled Music

Hearing those first four notes of the late Lalo Schifrin’s iconic opening theme, following the signature line “...This message will self-destruct in five seconds,” well, you know right where you are. Since its debut on the small screen in the Fall of 1967, through its resuscitation as a film franchise by Tom Cruise and director Brian De Palma in 1996, all the way up to the May 2025 premiere of Final Reckoning, Mission: Impossible has become something of a cultural touchstone, synonymous with gripping, over-the-top action scenes coupled with big, big music and explosive, unrelenting, yet always tasty, sound effects. In this special panel, we sit down with an alumni group of top sound and music editors and mixers to discuss the artistic, adventurous use of sound and music to tell the Mission: Impossible stories.