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Based on another question, What was Satan's goal with Kevin?, the answer says that Milton/Satan/Pacino is trying to do everything again, taking a different approach.

But what is apparent is that Satan hasn't given up on corrupting Kevin. He comes to him again, this time in the guise of a reporter who is promising to make him a star for his sudden courtroom performance. While Kevin did the right thing in court (as opposed to what he did in his past iteration), he is still vulnerable to his own vanity. Thus Satan's closing quote: "Vanity! Definitely my favorite sin!"

Was this the movie's intent? Is there any Word-of-God (pun totally intended) evidence for this, that Milton was trying again? Or is it that he decided to leave Kevin alone (My personal interpretation of what happened at the end)? Or did they intentionally leave it up to the audience, so there is no actual answer?

And if so, does that mean he has tried or will continue to try again? Was the version we see in the movie his attempt to cause Kevin to sin via Greed, one of the 7 deadly sins? Then the second teased at the end to sin via Vanity, another of the 7 deadly sins (Vanity is also named Pride). Did Milton try before or will try again with the rest of the sins?

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    But isn't Kevin the devil's son? Satan's job is to make sure as few souls as possible reach "God", his nemesis, even more so if we're talking about his own "flesh and blood". Satan is only obeying his nature.
    – Mari-Lou A
    Commented Jun 28, 2016 at 22:20
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    I always thought Milton was trying to corrupt Kevin again at the end of the movie, which is why he disguised his appearance, and which is why he tried using a "deadly sin" that Kevin is already susceptible to. Otherwise, why would Milton interact with Kevin at all? But that's just my interpretation.
    – BrettFromLA
    Commented Jun 29, 2016 at 16:53
  • @cde: I'm curios... Why do you think that 'Milton decided to leave Kevin alone' in the end? I'm not speaking on behalf of God (:P), but if Milton really wanted to leave him alone, why shooting that finale where Satan is tempting Kevin again? If the director's intent was to end the movie on a 'happy note', wouldn't have made more sense finishing the film with Kevin's redemption in court?
    – Pesetas74
    Commented Jul 2, 2016 at 11:15
  • @Pesetas honestly, it was the fourth wall break, the vanity is my favorite sin to the camera line. It didn't seem malicious.
    – cde
    Commented Jul 2, 2016 at 17:45
  • @cde: Well, you're right but although he's Satan, Milton is not always shown as pure evil, he's also affable, entertaining, seducing. That's why he's so effective. Think about the "look but don't touch" scene ;)
    – Pesetas74
    Commented Jul 2, 2016 at 18:44

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The ending of the film makes it clear that Kevin's "dream" was in fact an alternate reality where John Milton (aka Satan) tried to tempt Kevin with wealth and power and failed to do so. Kevin's "death" simply sent him back to his own reality at the point where it diverged ninto the film's primary narrative.

At the end of the film, Kevin is again being tempted in a similar manner (this time with notoriety) by a reporter who transmorphs in to Milton/Satan. While the narrative does not directly state this, it appears that the Milton/Satan is again going try to tempt Kevin into evil , this time using a different sort of bait.

So yes... the film does show two attempts to corrupt Kevin. Whether or not the second attempt will succeed or lead to a third (or more) remains unknown at the film's ending.

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